Elon Musk and Donald Trump's fractured friendship publicly imploded Thursday. Over five hours, a dramatic unraveling played out across 25 minutes of live TV and over a dozen X posts, plus three Truth Social posts. This explosive fallout followed Musk's criticism of Trump's spending bill, escalating into a public Twitter/X feud
Elon Musk and Donald Trump's falling out: The feud began with Musk's opposition to Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," although he avoided directly criticizing the former president. This subtle disagreement marked the first crack in their previously strong relationship
Elon Musk publicly condemned Congress members who voted for Trump's tax cut bill, tweeting "Shame on those who voted for it." This sparked a dramatic public falling out between Musk and Trump, fueled by Musk's opposition to the bill and Trump's subsequent response. The feud unfolded across multiple social media platforms, highlighting the fractured relationship between these two powerful figures. This Twitter/X and Truth Social spat involved Trump's past criticisms of deficits and Musk's concerns about the bill's impact on electric vehicle subsidies
Trump remained unusually silent in response to Musk's criticism of his "One Big Beautiful Bill," a surprising reaction given their past relationship. This silence preceded a dramatic public falling out between the two on social media
Thursday morning marked a dramatic turning point, as the already strained relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump publicly imploded. A minute-by-minute account of this high-profile falling out follows
Elon Musk vs. Donald Trump: A Minute-by-Minute Breakdown of Their Feud
Elon Musk resurfaced Donald Trump's past Twitter posts about the national deficit, including a January 2013 tweet, escalating their public feud
Elon Musk quotes Donald Trump's 2013 tweet about the deficit: "Wise words" [link to tweet]
Elon Musk resurfaced a 2012 X post by Donald Trump, seemingly criticizing the new Republican tax bill. Many economists and the Congressional Budget Office projected this bill would increase the national deficit
Elon Musk wholeheartedly agrees with a past Donald Trump post regarding the national deficit. #ElonMusk #DonaldTrump #Trump #Musk #Politics #USPolitics #Twitter #X
Trump finally responds to Musk's criticism during a White House press conference with German Chancellor Merz, citing the EV mandate as the source of Musk's anger
Trump accuses Elon Musk of hypocrisy, claiming Musk opposed the EV mandate despite benefiting financially. Trump alleges the mandate provided substantial funding for electric vehicles and that Musk knew this from the start, now demanding billions in subsidies. The comments highlight the fractured relationship between the two powerful figures following Musk's criticism of Trump's spending bill
Trump further criticized Musk during a White House press conference, expanding on his earlier response to Musk's attacks
Trump slams Elon Musk over "One Big Beautiful Bill" fallout, citing betrayal after past support. The President expressed disappointment, claiming Musk's opposition to the bill contradicts previous praise and assistance received from Trump. This public rift follows Musk's criticism of the bill on X, escalating tensions between the two influential figures
Trump on Musk Feud: Former aides' mixed reactions – from fond memories to bitter hostility
“I don’t know what it is. It’s sort of Trump derangement syndrome, I guess they call it, but we have it with others, too. They leave and they wake up in the morning, and the glamour’s gone. The whole world is different, and they become hostile,” he added.
Musk began a whirlwind of tweets soon after, responding in near real time to what Trump said during the press appearance.
“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!” Musk posed on X.
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
Musk then began a series of tweets directed at the president beyond the bill, including saying that without him, Republicans would have lost.
Such ingratitude
Musk polls his X followers about creating a new political party “that actually represents the 80% in the middle.” Mark Cuban quoted the post with three checkmarks.
Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?
Musk gives Trump’s bill — known on paper as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” — a new name: “Big Ugly Spending Bill.”
Not even those in Congress who had to vote on the Big Ugly Spending Bill had time to read it! https://t.co/mBOQyhQYwX
Trump responds to Musk with two consecutive posts on his own social media platform, Truth Social.
“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!” Trump wrote.
“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!” the president continued.
Musk responds to Trump’s posts on Truth Social, calling them “such an obvious lie.”
Such an obvious lie. So sad. https://t.co/sOu9vqMVfX
A minute later, Musk appeared to dare Trump to cancel government contracts with his companies.
This just gets better and better 🤣🤣
Go ahead, make my day … https://t.co/APmy7cV8iL
Musk makes another accusation.
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!
Trump posts on Truth Social again to defend his tax bill.
“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,” Trump wrote.
“It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT,” Trump added.
Musk says SpaceX will decommission its Dragon spacecraft “immediately.”
SpaceX’s Dragon spaceships transport NASA astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station. Prior to partnering with SpaceX, the agency depended on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for crewed missions.
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
Musk says that Trump’s tariffs will “cause a recession in the second half of this year.”
Some economists have also predicted that Trump’s tariffs would hurt the economy, and Trump himself declined to rule out the chances of a recession back in March.
JPMorgan had predicted a 60% chance of a US recession after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on April 2. The bank adjusted the possibility down to below 50% recently after Trump paused most of his highest tariffs.
The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year https://t.co/rbBC11iynE
Musk retweeted what appears to be a video of Trump partying with Epstein from the 1990s, doubling down on his earlier statement about the Epstein files.
“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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Business Insider in a statement. “The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.”
Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
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