Donald Trump attacks ‘crazy’ Elon Musk as row over tax bill erupts. US president signals he may cut billionaire’s contracts with the federal government.
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Donald Trump has attacked Elon Musk as “crazy” and threatened to rip-up his government contracts, as the spat between two of the world’s most powerful men erupted into an all-out public feud.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, the US president said he was “very disappointed” in Musk for criticising his signature tax bill, and suggested he was trying to defend his business interests.
In a follow-up post on his social media site, Trump said Musk, who is upset that the tax bill now before the Senate would increase the US deficit, had been “wearing thin” and that he had “asked him to leave” government.
As the row deepened on Thursday, Musk insinuated in a post on X that Trump was associated with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, adding: “Have a nice day, DJT!”
The head of electric-car maker Tesla also said the president he backed with more than $250mn during last year’s White House race was lying about why he was opposed to the administration’s new spending proposals.
Trump had claimed that Musk soured on his “big beautiful bill” because it would end policies that benefited Tesla.
“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday afternoon.
The comments prompted an explosive riposte from Musk, who had thus far refrained from criticising the president directly.
The Tesla boss, who in April retreated from politics because of the “blowback” against his businesses, suggested he regretted backing Trump during last year’s election.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” he posted on his social media site X soon after the Oval Office tirade. “Such ingratitude.”
Shares in Tesla fell by almost 11 per cent following Trump’s remarks and were down 13.5 per cent on the day, sending the stock to a one-month low.
Musk, the US’s largest political donor, also suggested that Republican lawmakers should side with him over the president.
“Some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years,” the billionaire wrote on X. He floated the idea of forming a new party.
He also hit back at Trump’s suggestion that he had opposed the “big beautiful bill” because it axed tax credits for electric vehicles and clean energy, which have long benefited Tesla in the US.
“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,” Musk posted.
The deepening row between Trump and “first buddy” Musk — who opposes the president’s trade war and tax bill — has now spread through Washington.
Last week, Trump pulled the nomination of billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman, a close ally Musk, to lead Nasa, ostensibly over contributions he had made to Democratic candidates in the past.
Isaacman, who was on track to receive bipartisan support from the Senate, disputed the White House’s justification for the decision.
“I don’t think the timing was much of a coincidence,” Isaacman told the All-In podcast on Wednesday. “There [were] some people that had some axes to grind, I guess, and I was a good, visible target.”
US budget Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ will swell US debt by $2.4tn, warns fiscal watchdog The US Capitol in Washington
Musk had already announced that he was stepping back from his involvement in the Trump administration, where he had led the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). Musk boasted that Doge would cut trillions of dollars from federal spending, although the savings so far have been much more modest.
Steve Davis, one of Musk’s lieutenants at SpaceX who led Doge on a day-to-day basis, had also now left the administration, according to a government official.
More senior figures close to the billionaire were set to abandon the initiative in the coming days, the official said.
Musk himself has suggested that the tax bill would wipe out any savings made by Doge, which claims to have identified roughly $180bn in cuts to date. On Wednesday, the congressional fiscal watchdog said the legislation would add $2.4tn to the US debt by 2034.
ChristopherBlackwell
It's almost like two kids fighting on a playground. ROFLMAO
Greenman, I was wondering if and when the split might happen. If Musk wanted to, he could fight to ditch anyone up for reelection that supported Trump. It could get very interesting.
In reverse, Trump could have all the investigation of Musk business illegal practices investigated again.
Now, until midterm elections, could be very interesting.ChristopherBlackwell
Oh, it will definitely go down both of those roads!
When the world revolves around them, there isn't room for two.
Where's Xi's partner? He hasn't got one. Where's Putin's partner? Same thing.
Musk appears the bigger fool. He always had more to lose than the felon. When it comes to lying and cons, musk is a rank amateur compared with the felon.
Trump was a criminal since he was potty trained, if he was potty trained. Some close to him insist a strong foul odor often surrounds him. Strong fecal smell might be the only thing the felon lets actually be close to him. You can look away from a painting, but you can't listen away from a symphony
on June 5, 2025, 4:18 pm
