The U.S political world has been consumed by a public fight between President Donald J. Trump and his former ally, billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk had invested about $290 million into the 2024 election, vowing to elect Trump, allegedly to get rid of government investigations into his businesses, he worried would “take [him] down.”
Once Trump took office, Musk became a regular presence in the White House.
He attended Cabinet meetings and led the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” a group tasked with eliminating federal programs by withholding congressionally approved funds. At the same time, the group was gathering data on Americans that could be used to train artificial intelligence, and the investigations Musk feared quietly vanished.
In February, Musk posted on social media: “I love [Donald Trump] as much as a straight man can love another man.”
But Musk began to overstep his boundaries and outstay his welcome. His behaviour began to negatively affect Tesla sales, even as Trump went so far as to appear in a car commercial for him on the White House grounds. Just a week ago, Musk officially left the White House—the same day the New York Times published an article detailing his heavy drug use on the campaign.
Then, on Tuesday, June 3, Musk took a public stand against the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” Trump was urgently pushing in Congress. He posted on X:
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
And with that, the falling out began.
This morning, Trump told reporters he was “disappointed” in Musk. Ron Filipkowski of Meidas followed the saga as it unfolded.
Musk responded online:
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House, and the Republicans would be 51–49 in the Senate. Such ingratitude.”
Trump then hit back, suggesting:
“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 replied by announcing he would begin decommissioning SpaceX’s spacecraft, which supply the International Space Station.
The two continued exchanging blows. Musk posted that “Donald Trump is in the Epstein files,” referencing the documents linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with whom Trump had once been friendly.
He also said Trump’s tariffs would lead to a recession, and agreed with another poster who suggested Trump should be impeached and replaced with Vice President J.D. Vance.
Trump’s response was surprisingly muted. Rather than directly addressing the allegations, he pivoted back to the spending bill, calling it: “One of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.”
While Musk’s behaviour appeared erratic, some observers speculated he was making a calculated move to challenge Trump for influence over the Republican Party.
In response to a post by conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who said GOP lawmakers were unsure whether to side with Trump or Musk, Musk replied:
“Oh, and some food for thought as they ponder that question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years.”
It’s a risky gamble. Trump still controls the government contracts that built—and continue to support—Musk’s business empire. Some MAGA loyalists are treating the clash as a victory for Trump. MAGA influencer Steve Bannon told The New York Times’ Tyler Pager that he had advised Trump to cancel all of Musk’s federal contracts and launch a formal investigation into his drug use and immigration status.
Meanwhile, Kylie Robison and Aarian Marshall of Wired reported that TrumpCoin lost more than $100 million in value during the fight. Tesla stock dropped by $152 billion in market capitalization. Filipkowski noted that the combined loss amounted to about $9 billion per tweet.
Economist Robert Reich offered a scathing assessment of the debacle:
“That any of us have to care about the messy breakup of these two massive narcissists—and that they both individually wield such massive power—is an indictment of our political system and further proves the poisonous influence of Big Money on our democracy.”
With thanks to Heather Cox Richardson
