Trump-Musk Feud Erupts: Public Twitter War Ends in De-escalation. The once-close relationship between President Trump and Elon Musk dramatically soured this week, with a heated social media exchange. Musk's subsequent deletion of critical tweets marks a significant de-escalation in the conflict between the world's richest and most powerful men
Trump and Musk Feud: Oval Office Photo Shows Past Friendship Before Public Twitter Spat. Image: President Trump and Elon Musk in the Oval Office, May 30, 2025. (ALLISON ROBBERT/AFP via Getty Images)
Elon Musk's First Direct Attack on Trump: "Wise Words" Repost Amid Debt Ceiling Debate. On Thursday, June 5th, at 11:20 AM, Musk publicly criticized Trump's debt ceiling bill, reposting a 2013 Trump tweet expressing embarrassment over the issue. This marked a significant escalation in their public feud, following days of Musk's criticism of Trump's signature policy. The reposted tweet highlighted Trump's past stance against raising the debt ceiling, contrasting sharply with his current proposal
Trump Responds to Musk's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" Criticism: Friendship Fracture? At a midday Oval Office press conference, President Trump fired back at Elon Musk's criticism of his signature "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," suggesting Musk's opposition stems from the removal of electric vehicle tax credits. Trump questioned the future of their friendship, alleging Musk was privy to the bill's details and even accusing him of "Trump derangement syndrome
Trump accuses Elon Musk of suffering from "Trump derangement syndrome," claiming this occurs when former administration officials criticize the president, following a public feud sparked by Musk's criticism of Trump's signature bill
Elon Musk denies seeing Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" before its passage, tweeting at 12:25 PM: "False, this bill was never shown to me & passed so fast almost no one in Congress could read it!" The tweet refutes Trump's claim that Musk opposed the bill due to the removal of the EV tax credit
Elon Musk's $250 Million Trump Donation Backfires: A Public Feud Erupts. Musk claims his massive contribution was crucial to Trump's 2020 election victory, alleging the former president showed "ingratitude" after Musk criticized Trump's policies, including the controversial "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." The fallout included a series of explosive tweets and public statements, culminating in a dramatic shift in their relationship
Trump Calls for Ending Elon Musk's Government Subsidies: At 2:37 PM, President Trump advocated cutting Elon Musk's government funding and contracts, expressing surprise that President Biden hadn't already done so. This statement escalated the ongoing public feud between the two prominent figures
Trump-Musk Feud Explodes: White House Blow-Up Over EV Tax Credit. At 2:37 PM, Trump revealed Musk's White House visit ended with Musk's outburst after the electric vehicle tax credit was cut from the bill. The incident marks a dramatic escalation in their public feud following Musk's criticism of Trump's policy
Elon Musk calls Trump's claim of his EV tax credit anger a "sad" and "obvious lie," escalating their public feud following the removal of the credit from Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." The Tesla CEO's rebuttal follows Trump's accusation that Musk's criticism stems from the tax credit's elimination
Elon Musk accuses the White House of withholding "Epstein files" implicating Donald Trump, claiming this is the reason for the delay in their release. This unsubstantiated allegation, posted on X at 3:10 PM, escalated the already tense public feud between Musk and Trump
Elon Musk announced plans to retire SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, the NASA vehicle used for astronaut transport to the International Space Station, at 4:09 PM
Elon Musk publicly supported a call for Trump's impeachment, responding "Yes" to a user suggesting Trump's replacement by JD Vance. This marked a significant escalation in the ongoing feud between Musk and Trump, following days of public criticism from Musk
Elon Musk Predicts Trump Tariffs Will Cause Recession: At 4:26 PM, Musk reversed his earlier reserved stance, directly blaming Trump's tariffs for an impending second-half recession. This marked a significant escalation in the ongoing public feud between the two high-profile figures
Trump downplays feud with Musk, calling it "okay" as White House intervenes to arrange a call between the two. The late-night de-escalation follows a public spat between the former president and the Tesla CEO over Trump's signature bill
Musk appeared to backtrack on his earlier threat to decommission the SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft after a follower urged him not to do so, prompting the billionaire to respond “Good advice. Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.”
Musk signaled he is willing to de-escalate his fight with Trump after hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman—who is both a Trump supporter and a Musk ally—tweeted that both of them “should make peace for the benefit of our great country…We are much stronger together than apart.” Musk replied: “You’re not wrong.”
The billionaire later reposted a follower who said “Republicans will likely lose the House in 2026.”
Despite signals of a truce, Musk continued to attack the president’s allies, such as Steve Bannon, and Trump’s signature spending bill.
The price of Tesla’s shares, which plummeted 14% on Thursday amid the clash, is up around 4.4% in premarket trading on Friday morning, after Musk signaled he is open to a truce with Trump.
Trump told ABC News in a Friday morning interview he was “not particularly” interested in talking to Musk right now, alleging Musk has “lost his mind.”
Trump is “thinking about” selling the Tesla Model S he bought in March, when he showcased the purchase to the media on the White House driveway in a public show of support for Musk, a senior White House official told Forbes, though The New York Times, also citing an unnamed White House source, reported the car is already for sale.
Otherwise, the Musk-Trump feud appeared to simmer in public as of Friday afternoon, with some speculation they could mend fences in a matter of days.
Musk deleted his tweet suggesting Trump was in the Epstein files and removed his other post endorsing the impeachment of the president—though a quote tweet expressing skepticism about Trump and Epstein’s alleged links was still up as of Saturday morning, as well as Musk’s tweet claiming Trump would have lost the election without him.
Musk said repeatedly last year he supports eliminating the EV tax credit—diluting Trump’s argument he only opposes the bill because it gets rid of the incentive. “I think we should get rid of all credits,” Musk said in December when asked by a reporter on Capitol Hill if he supports getting rid of the electric vehicle tax credit, Politico reported. The House-passed version of the bill would phase out the $7,500 tax credit for some EV buyers by 2026.
$2.4 trillion. That’s how much the bill would add to the federal debt over the next decade, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released Wednesday that estimates it would cost $4.2 trillion, mostly from tax cuts, and save $1.8 trillion.
“I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot,” Trump said while sitting next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office on Thursday.
Musk—who left his White House role last week—has fired off dozens of tweets this week attacking Trump’s policy bill over the amount it’s expected to add to the federal debt. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote Tuesday on X in his initial post bashing the legislation, calling it a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled . . . disgusting abomination.” Musk attacked Trump directly over the bill for the first time since he began his days-long rant moments before Trump sat down with Merz by reposting the president’s 2013 tweet about the debt ceiling. In other tweets this week targeting the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Musk threatened Republicans who voted for it, warning that “in November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people” and calling for lawmakers to “KILL The BILL.” Until Trump’s comments Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.—who shepherded the bill through the House—was the top Republican defending the legislation against Musk’s criticism. Johnson said Wednesday Trump is “not delighted that Elon did a 180.”
The bill, passed by the House in a party-line vote last month after last-minute revisions to appease Republican holdouts, is being negotiated by the Senate. Republican leaders have set a July 4 deadline to put the bill on Trump’s desk for signage, but GOP resistance in the upper chamber—and some expressions of regret from a few House Republicans who said they were unaware of certain provisions—threaten to delay its passage. The legislation would fulfill Trump’s key campaign promises, including an extension of his 2017 tax cuts, no taxes on tips and overtime and additional border security, paid for, in part, by cuts to Medicaid.
Tesla shares dropped 14% as Musk clashed with Trump, closing at $284.70 and completely erasing a month’s worth of gains it made in May. The fall marked the 11th-worst single trading day for the electric vehicle maker since it went public in 2010, according to FactSet. Musk, who owns about 12% of Tesla excluding options, saw his estimated net worth tumble by $27 billion to $388 billion (he still remains the world’s wealthiest person by far). Trump Media & Technology Group’s stock closed down 8% at $20.12, bringing shares to their lowest point since April 16. Multiple cryptocurrencies also slumped amid the spat, with ethereum falling 7%, Solana dropping 6% and the Musk-backed dogecoin sliding 9%. Bitcoin prices did not fall as sharply as its competitors’ prices, but still sunk by 3% by Thursday evening.
Tensions between Musk and Trump were palpable during the joint press conference they held May 30 to mark Musk’s last day leading the Department of Government Efficiency. While the two praised each other, their once-lighthearted rapport appeared stiff and uneasy. Musk in particular appeared to be in an odd mood, prompting social media users to claim he was “tweaking out,” suggesting he may have been under the influence of drugs, as the press conference was held hours after a New York Times report alleging Musk engaged in heavy drug use while he campaigned for Trump last year. Musk also sported a black eye during the press conference, which the Tesla CEO claimed he got from his five-year-old son.
‘KILL The BILL’: Musk Deepens Rant Against Trump’s Signature Policy Legislation (Forbes)
Musk Calls For Ending Electric Vehicle Tax Credit—Which Could Help Tesla (Forbes)
Musk Cuts Off Reporter Asking About Drug Use Allegations—Including Ketamine, Ecstasy And Adderall (Forbes)
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