Trump said he was disappointed with Musk’s criticism of his tax bill and called for the government to cut off funding for SpaceX and Tesla. Elon responded by saying that Trump would not have won the presidential election without his help and that he was connected to financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of pedophilia and prostitution.
Trump said he was disappointed with Musk’s criticism of his tax bill and called for the government to cut off funding for SpaceX and Tesla. Elon responded by saying that Trump would not have won the presidential election without his help and that he was connected to financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of pedophilia and prostitution.
Elon Musk had previously called President Donald Trump’s tax bill (which he called «great» and «beautiful») «an abomination» and called for a block. Trump did not publicly respond to Musk’s comments at the time, but media outlets reported that he was «losing patience.»
«Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we’ll ever have one,» Trump told reporters at the White House. The billionaire later wrote that Donald Trump wouldn’t have won the US presidential election without his support.
Musk donated about $290 million to the campaigns of Donald Trump and other Republican candidates in 2024. Musk’s money paid for the work of thousands of volunteers in key swing states that brought Trump victory in the presidential election.
In the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, Musk held a lottery where he gave away $1 million a day to people who signed up to support the Republicans. He also appeared with Trump at several rallies.
After this statement, the US president’s patience snapped and he began to criticize Musk in his speech in the Oval Office. He said that Musk changed his position only because his car company Tesla would suffer from the Republicans' desire to eliminate tax breaks for electric cars. In response, the entrepreneur said that he only wanted to reduce budget spending in the US and called Trump ungrateful.
The spat sent Tesla shares down about 14%, taking a loss of $152 billion in market value. This is not the first time Musk has played politics, as his past political games have led to backlash against the brand and concerns that he is not giving the company enough attention. The stock has also been hurt by a proposal to end tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers, part of a spending bill that has deepened the rift between Musk and Trump.
The US President also poked fun at Elon Musk’s black eye, which was visible during his visit to the White House last week. «I said, 'Do you want some makeup? We’ll give you some makeup.' And he said, 'No, I don’t think so.' Which is interesting. And very nice. He wants to be who he is,» Trump said during a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
«Is it time to create a new political party in America that truly represents the middle 80%?» Musk wrote on X (Twitter) and attached a poll to his post. So far, more than 4 million users have participated, with 81% voting in favor of the proposal.
After a series of posts by Musk on X (Twitter), Trump decided to continue the controversy with posts on his social network Truth Social.
«Elon was exhausted, I asked him to go, took away his electric car mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody needed (which he knew for months I was going to do!) and he just went crazy!» Trump said. He added that the «easiest way to save money» in the tax bill he signed was to «end Elon’s government subsidies and contracts.»
In response, Musk hinted that he will outlive Trump in every sense. «Oh, and some food for thought as they [Republicans] ponder this question [what to do after this feud]: Trump has 3.5 years left in the presidency, but I’ll be around for another 40-plus years…» the billionaire replied.
One of the reasons for the rift between Trump and Musk is who will become the next head of the American space agency NASA.
Musk recommended his longtime friend Jared Isaacman, whom Trump nominated before he took over as NASA administrator.
Musk has long had a goal of traveling to Mars through his company Space X, which has several contracts with NASA. But Isaacman’s endorsement ran into trouble after it emerged that he had previously donated to several Democratic campaigns over a 15-year period.
On May 31, the US president announced that he was withdrawing Isaacman’s candidacy after a thorough review of all his connections.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said that Musk was upset by Isaacman’s withdrawal. «Look, we won, we get certain privileges, and one of the privileges is that we don’t have to nominate a Democrat,» the US president said.
Musk further escalated the feud with another post on his social media, in which he suggested that Trump was featured in unpublished government files related to the late billionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Jeffrey Epstein was first arrested in 2008. He was convicted of sex with minors and organizing prostitution. After 13 months in prison, the financier made a deal with prosecutors and was released. In 2019, he was charged with new charges of human trafficking. This time, he committed suicide while awaiting trial.
Last year, court documents released by a judge named numerous public figures associated with Epstein. One of the documents mentioned Trump by name. His name in the documents does not mean he committed a crime, and no charges have been filed against Trump.
During the presidential race, Trump promised to release more files on Epstein. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi released another batch of declassified files, but they again contained no new serious allegations against Epstein or revelations about his associates.
«Time to drop a really big bombshell: Trump is in the Epstein files. This is the real reason they weren’t released. Have a nice day, Donald!» Musk wrote .
«This is an unfortunate episode on the part of Elon, who is unhappy with the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ because it does not include the provisions he wanted,» White House press secretary Caroline Levitt commented on the accusations.
The billionaire continued to raise the heat by saying that Trump’s policies would lead to a recession in the US in the second half of the year (ironically, this is what Trump’s rival for the US presidency, Kamala Harris, has repeatedly said). Musk also supported the proposal to impeach Trump and replace him with Vice President J.D. Vance.
The feud reached cosmic proportions when Musk said he could decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. They were built with $396 million in funding from NASA. Dragon 1 and Dragon 2, used to deliver astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, are currently the only spacecraft other than the Russians capable of doing so.
If Musk were to carry out his threat, it would seriously impact NASA’s ability to operate in space and jeopardize SpaceX’s contracts worth about $22 billion.
«NASA will continue to implement the President’s vision for the future of space. We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President’s goals in space are achieved,» the space agency responded.
Steve Bannon, an American businessman, Ukrainephobe, and longtime ally of Donald Trump, said that the US president should «take over SpaceX today, by midnight.»
«He’s a know-it-all. He knows a little bit about engineering, don’t get me wrong. But he knows nothing about the real world,» Bannon said. He also called for Musk to be deported from the United States.
Elon Musk later stated that he «will not decommission» Dragon.
The Musk-Trump feud has spawned thousands of memes and reactions, but one of the best comments that sums it up was made by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, whom Musk once called a «little man» and advised him to shut up .
«You see, great man, politics is harder than you thought,» Sikorsky wrote .
