Washington: Tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk erupted into a highly publicised war of words on Thursday, marking a dramatic escalation in what had previously been regarded as a cooperative relationship. The spat unfolded across social media platforms and in interviews, with Trump declaring that he is no longer interested in speaking with Musk, and Musk responding with sharp criticisms of the former president’s policies and leadership.
A White House official had initially stated that Trump and Musk would speak by phone on Friday. However, within hours, the White House retracted the statement, indicating that Trump had decided against the conversation. Speaking to CNN, Trump remarked, “I don’t even think about Elon. He has a problem. The poor guy has a problem.”
The disagreement stems from Musk’s recent resignation from his advisory role overseeing government cost-cutting measures. Following his departure, Musk publicly condemned a budget bill championed by Trump as “incredibly bad”, despite Trump previously lauding it as “beautiful”. This sparked a rapid deterioration in their relationship, with both men taking to their respective platforms—Trump on Truth Social and Musk on X (formerly Twitter)—to trade barbs.
Musk went as far as to urge the U.S. Senate to reject Trump’s budget, which narrowly passed in the House of Representatives. Trump initially refrained from responding but eventually addressed the matter during a press event, saying, “Elon and I had a good relationship. I don’t know if it will be like that again.”
Musk retorted by asserting that he played a pivotal role in preventing a Democratic sweep in recent elections. “If it weren’t for me, Trump would have lost the election. The Republicans would have won the Senate 51-49,” Musk claimed, characterising Trump’s treatment of him as “ungrateful.” He also warned that Trump’s import tariffs could push the U.S. into a recession and even polled users on whether Trump should face impeachment.
Trump, meanwhile, accused Musk of turning against the bill only after realising it might negatively affect the electric vehicle industry—a key area of Musk’s business interests. “He had no problem with the bill until he thought it would hurt EVs. That’s when he started causing problems,” Trump alleged.
The confrontation has broader implications for government-private sector partnerships. Trump threatened to cancel federal contracts with Musk’s aerospace firm SpaceX and its satellite service, Starlink. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft remains the only U.S. vehicle capable of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. Musk, in response, briefly threatened to withdraw the Dragon capsule from service before stepping back from the claim.
The feud took a darker turn when Musk referenced Trump’s alleged connections to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, hinting at possessing damaging documents. “I have a bomb in my hand,” Musk warned, suggesting a potential release of sensitive information.
Despite the escalating rhetoric, Musk has recently responded positively to a public appeal by billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who called on both men to reconcile for the sake of political stability and economic progress.
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