The relationship between the Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump seems to be at an end, after an extraordinary feud between the two men erupted on social media.
It began soon after Elon Musk ‘stepped down’ last week from his role as a “special government employee” leading the so called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), that oversaw a chaotic cost cutting exercise at the Federal government.
Days after he left the US government, Musk started to publicly criticise Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending bill, labelling it on Tuesday a “disgusting abomination” and publicly denouncing those Republicans who voted for it.
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 3, 2025
Timeline of row
Somewhat usually, Trump for a day or so held off responding, keeping silent during Musk’s criticism.
Musk however continued to fire off multiple tweets and reposts denouncing Trump’s bill saying it will increase the US’s deficit by another $2.5 trillion (£1.85 trn) – at a time when the President and Doge had sought to reduce the deficit of the United States.
Tweets continued from Musk such as “kill bill”, and then shared a number of posts dating back to 2012 from Trump’s X account, including tweets that deficits should not be allowed.
Musk also tweeted about the “big ugly spending bill”, alleging members of Congress didn’t even have time to read it before it was passed, and accusing the Trump administration of “spending America into bankruptcy.”
False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it! https://t.co/V4ztekqd4g
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
Trump responds
By then Trump had had enough, and posted on Truth Social on Thursday that “Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!
Musk responded “Such an obvious lie. So sad.”
Musk also shared a number of former interviews, including a video from 2021 where he says the industry does not need EV tax credits.
Trump then posted that the “easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts”.
Epstein accusation
Then Musk pressed the nuclear button, when he accused Trump of being in the Epstein files, and alleged that is the real reason they have not been made public.
Time to drop the really big bomb:@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.
Have a nice day, DJT!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
American financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in prison in 2019 during Trump’s first term in office, apparently as a result of attempted suicide.
Musk also shared a video of Trump partying with Epstein.
Trump then posted “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!”
Trump also defended his spending bill, posting “I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.”
Musk responded and tweeted “In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.” Musk later seemed to back down from this statement.
In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately pic.twitter.com/NG9sijjkgW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
Elon Musk also tweeted his support for Donald Trump’s impeachment.
As the two men traded blows in front of the whole world, Tesla’s share price closed down 14.2 percent on Thursday, wiping $152 billion off the value of the struggling EV maker.
