A high-profile clash between U.S. President Donald Trump and his former adviser Elon Musk erupted into public view on Thursday, as both men exchanged pointed insults across social media following Musk’s criticism of the administration’s signature tax and spending bill.
The dispute marks a dramatic breakdown in the once unlikely alliance between the two billionaires, who until recently appeared politically aligned. Tensions escalated throughout the day, with Trump and Musk posting barbs on the platforms they respectively control—Truth Social and X.
The rift began after Musk denounced the bill, which passed the House last month and is awaiting Senate approval. In response, Trump told Politico he was “disappointed” with Musk’s remarks and hinted it could mark the end of their “great relationship.”
Musk quickly fired back, accusing Trump of “ingratitude,” writing on X: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election.”
Despite the fiery exchange, both parties seemed to entertain reconciliation. Trump later downplayed the spat, telling Politico, “Oh it’s okay. It’s going very well, never done better.”
The outlet also reported that Trump aides had scheduled a phone call with Musk for Friday.
Musk also responded positively to a suggestion from Trump supporter and billionaire investor Bill Ackman that the two men should reconcile, commenting: “You’re not wrong.”
The fallout appears to stem from weeks of Musk lobbying against what Trump has called his “big, beautiful” spending bill.
Shortly after stepping down from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Musk labelled the bill a “disgusting abomination” and posted on X: “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong.”
Musk argued the bill would worsen the national debt and urged Americans to contact their representatives in protest. In a joint press conference on Thursday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump defended the legislation and expressed frustration over Musk’s shift in stance.
“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,” Trump said.
He also suggested that Musk was reacting to proposed cuts to subsidies and mandates for electric vehicles—a claim Musk denied.
“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 wrote, using a term for government spending viewed as wasteful or politically motivated.
The Trump–Musk partnership began last July when Musk endorsed the president following an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. Reports suggest Musk contributed $290 million (£213 million) to support Trump’s re-election bid.
Following Thursday’s press conference, Musk intensified his attacks on X, claiming credit for the Republican victory in the 2024 midterms.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” he wrote. “Such ingratitude,” he added.
Musk also launched a poll asking whether it was time to form a new political party that represents the “80% in the middle.”
Later posts from Musk included a call for Trump to resign, a warning that Trump’s proposed tariff plans could cause a U.S. recession, and an unsubstantiated suggestion that Trump might appear in sealed files linked to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein, who was arrested in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking, died by suicide while in custody. Trump has acknowledged knowing Epstein socially but claimed they had a falling out “a long time ago.”
The White House condemned Musk’s remarks. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said 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.”
Trump also weighed in on Truth Social, posting: “Elon just went CRAZY,” and adding, “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—Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink—have numerous contracts with the U.S. government and benefit from tax breaks and federal subsidies.
In apparent retaliation, Musk posted that SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft, used to transport cargo and crew to the International Space Station. He later backed down from that threat, responding to a user urging him to cool off with: “Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.”
Shares in Tesla fell 14% within hours of the dispute spilling into the open.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the proposed spending bill would add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade and leave nearly 11 million people without federal health coverage. The White House disputes this analysis, arguing it fails to include projected revenue from new tariffs.
As head of Doge, Musk had led a drastic cost-cutting effort, eliminating entire government bodies including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
While Doge claimed it saved $180 billion, that figure remains disputed and falls short of Musk’s stated goal to slash $2 trillion in federal spending.
