What began as one of the Trump administration’s most conspicuous bromances now threatens to redraw the fault lines of US politics, space policy, and markets.
When Donald Trump was grazed by a bullet on the Butler, Pennsylvania rally stage last July, Elon Musk raced to X to declare, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”
The endorsement quickly morphed into overt political partnership. Within weeks Musk joined Trump on a glitch-plagued livestream, praising the candidate’s “courage under fire.” After Trump reclaimed the White House in November, he elevated the Tesla and SpaceX chief to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency—DOGE—alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, promising that the duo would “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.”
At Trump’s January inauguration, the president lavished more praise: “We have a new star. A star is born. Elon!”
The spending bill that lit the fuse
By early spring the relationship had cooled. Cabinet secretaries bristled at DOGE’s reach, and in March Trump reminded them that “they, not Elon, run their agencies.”
Musk’s attention drifted; Tesla was down 40% year-to-date when the company posted a disappointing first-quarter miss in April.
In May, Musk used a CBS interview to denounce Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” calling it “a disgusting abomination” that would swell the deficit rather than shrink it.
The “Big Beautiful Bill” is Trump’s signature tax-and-spending package: it pairs what the White House touts as a record $1.6 trillion reduction in baseline federal outlays with the largest across-the-board tax cut in US history. It funds the gap partly through new uniform tariffs, eliminates most electric-vehicle and solar incentives yet leaves oil-and-gas subsidies untouched, and repeals dozens of Biden-era climate and workplace rules.
Fresh money flows to defense, veterans’ health care, and border infrastructure, and a fast-track deficit commission is tasked with finding another $500 billion in mandatory savings. Critics such as Musk warn the bill’s “mountain of disgusting pork” would still swell the annual deficit to roughly $2.5 trillion within two years and push net interest costs above the Pentagon’s budget.
The president, asked about Musk’s critique, offered a thin smile: “I’m thrilled by other aspects of it. That’s the way they go.” Yet aides say the jab stung.
Social media slugfest
The simmering tension exploded on June 5 while Trump hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office. Fielding questions about Musk’s opposition, the president deadpanned, “He hasn’t said anything about me that’s bad. I’d rather have him criticize me than the bill.”
Musk obliged—in real time. He posted: “In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.”
This is in response to Trump’s earlier rant on Truth Social: “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!”
SpaceX’s Dragon 2 spacecraft is the linchpin of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program: under a contract now worth nearly $4.93 billion and running through 2030, Dragon ferries four-person crews and cargo to the International Space Station as often as six times a year. If this would be decommissioned, NASA would have no immediately certified US replacement; Boeing’s Starliner remains mired in test setbacks and has yet to begin regular service, years behind schedule.
Decommissioning Dragon would therefore strand routine ISS rotations, force the agency to buy seats from Russia’s Soyuz again, and trigger costly contract-termination penalties.
Hours after posting, Musk appeared to walk the ultimatum back, telling followers he would “review NASA requirements,” but the point was made: he retains a choke-hold on US crewed launch capacity.
Tesla sank 14% Thursday, lopping roughly $140 billion off its market value and pushing the company below the $1 trillion club.
The real election winner
The exchanges spiraled. Musk asserted, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
This comes as a reply to Trump’s comment on Musk’s real effect to his presidential win, saying he “would have won Pennsylvania regardless of Elon” and that he is “very disappointed” with his former buddy.
He further accused Musk of caring only about electric-vehicle mandates, claiming, “He had no problem with the bill until he found out we’re going to cut the EV mandate.”
Musk fired back that the bill “was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it.”
Trump later on asserted that he didn’t mind Musk’s exit and “he should have done so months ago.” He claims that the bill is “one of the greatest bills ever presented to Congress.”
Impeachment and Epstein
The rhetoric raced toward the unhinged. Musk lobbed a grenade of accusation: “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the allegation as “an unfortunate episode,” but insiders conceded the accusation was radioactive.
Musk then retweeted a supporter urging impeachment—answering simply, “Yes.”
Musk was indeed the single-largest donor of the 2024 cycle, steering roughly $288-$300 million—much of it through America PAC and allied super-PACs—into Trump’s campaign and dozens of tight congressional contests. Yet Trump’s Pennsylvania win ultimately rested on a certified margin of 120,266 votes (50.4 % to 48.7 %), a gap small enough for late advertising blitzes and a well-funded ground game to matter, but also large enough that analysts cannot isolate any single donor’s effect with statistical confidence.
The feud lands as Republican fund-raisers court tech donors ahead of 2026 mid-terms. Musk reminded lawmakers that Trump “has three-and-a-half years left as President, but I will be around for 40 plus years.”
The political and economic fallout
Fiscal conservatives seized on Musk’s deficit warnings. Rep. Thomas Massie reposted Musk’s thread, adding, “Some politicians get into politics to enrich themselves.”
Musk amplified Sen. Rand Paul’s Festivus report on $892 billion in 2024 interest payments. He also reposted decade-old Trump tweets lambasting debt ceilings: “I could not agree more!” he quipped.
Yet hard-line Trump loyalists, from Speaker Mike Johnson to Vice President JD Vance, lined up behind the White House, labeling Musk a fair-weather friend who “only developed a problem when the EV gravy train ended.”
By Thursday night, SpaceX engineers were still prepping Cargo Dragon CRS-36 for a July launch; NASA officials insisted schedules were unchanged “for now.” White House aides debated whether Trump should phone Musk, but sources said the president preferred to “let him sweat.” On X, Musk posted the cryptic line, “Slim Beautiful Bill for the win.”
Trump once told reporters that Musk “shouldn’t be penalized because he’s a patriot.” Musk now calls the president’s deficit logic “such an obvious lie.” Absent an improbable reconciliation, Washington is discovering that a public feud between its most prolific tweeter and its most powerful loudspeaker is no longer a sideshow—it is the show.
So much for the partnership.
Information for this story was found via BBC, CNN, CNBC, and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
