WASHINGTON D.C., United States — A significant rift has openly emerged between U.S. President Donald Trump and his former advisor, Elon Musk, culminating in a public exchange of insults after the tech billionaire criticized a key domestic policy of the Trump administration.
The escalating feud dominated Thursday, with both billionaires trading barbs on the social media platforms they each own, signaling a potentially bitter end to their once unlikely alliance.
The day commenced with President Trump expressing “disappointment” over Musk’s critiques of his administration’s central tax and spending bill, musing that it might signify the conclusion of their “great relationship.”
Musk subsequently accused Trump of “ingratitude,” adding, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election.”
After hours of public sparring, Trump appeared to downplay the situation, telling news site Politico, “Oh it’s okay. It’s going very well, never done better.” According to the same news site, his aides have scheduled a phone call with Musk for Friday.
Musk also seemed to acknowledge the need for reconciliation. Late on Thursday, in response to a post by prominent Trump supporter Bill Ackman, who suggested the pair needed to make peace, Musk wrote: “You’re not wrong.”
The breaking point in their relationship followed weeks of Musk actively lobbying against Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending bill, which was passed by the U.S. House last month and awaits a vote in the Senate.
Shortly after his 129-day tenure leading the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Musk took to his platform X to denounce the bill as a “disgusting abomination” and posted: “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong.” He contended that the bill would irresponsibly inflate the U.S. national debt and urged his followers to contact their representatives to voice opposition to the spending plan.
President Trump defended the bill during a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, stating: “I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here. All of a sudden he had a problem.”
He then implied that Musk’s discontent stemmed from the bill’s removal of subsidies and mandates for electric vehicles, which could impact his Tesla business. Musk refuted this, writing: “Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.” “Pork” is a term in U.S. politics referring to government spending considered wasteful, often intended to gain favor with specific groups or localities.
The partnership between Trump and Musk began last July when Musk publicly endorsed Trump following an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. The Tesla CEO reportedly funneled $290 million (£213 million) into efforts to secure Trump’s return to the White House.
In a flurry of posts on X after Thursday’s news conference, Musk claimed credit for the sweeping Republican victory in last November’s election, writing: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.” He added: “Such ingratitude.”
Musk further fueled speculation by posting a poll asking his followers: “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?” Throughout the day, Musk also reposted a tweet advocating for Trump’s resignation, argued that Trump’s global tariff plan would trigger a U.S. recession, and, without providing evidence, suggested Trump’s appearance in unreleased files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges and died by suicide while awaiting trial, during Trump’s presidency. Trump stated he knew Epstein “like everybody in Palm Beach knew him” but had a “falling out with him a long time ago.”
The White House condemned Musk’s allegation, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt asserting in a statement: “This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.”
On his Truth Social network, Trump countered that Musk “just went CRAZY,” writing: “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!” Musk’s companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink, maintain direct contracts with the U.S. government and, like many other businesses, also benefit from subsidies and tax breaks.
In immediate response, Musk declared that SpaceX “will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,” a craft used for shuttling personnel and supplies to the International Space Station. However, he later seemed to retract that threat, responding to an X post urging him to calm down with: “Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.” Tesla stock experienced a 14% drop within hours of the public row.
Also Read: Trump Tells Musk: ‘Stay as Long as You Want’—But Hints It’s Time to Focus on Tesla
According to the most recent analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the spending bill currently navigating Congress is projected to increase the U.S. national debt by $2.4 trillion over 10 years and leave nearly 11 million people without government-backed health insurance.
The White House disputes these figures, claiming they do not account for revenues generated by increased tariffs.
During his tenure at Doge, Musk, tasked with radically slashing government spending, initiated mass layoffs and the wholesale elimination of departments, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Doge claims to have achieved $180 billion in savings, though this figure has been disputed and falls significantly short of Musk’s initial goal of cutting spending by up to $2 trillion.
