Washington — President Donald Trump lashed out on Thursday against his ally Elon Musk, saying he was “disappointed” over Musk’s criticism this week, and threatened to cut off government contracts with companies owned by the billionaire, as the alliance between the world’s most powerful man and its richest erupted into a rancorous public fight.
“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more,” Trump said in the Oval Office, in his first direct response to Musk’s attacks.
“He said the most beautiful things about me, and he hasn’t said bad about me personally, but I’m sure that’ll be next. But I’m, I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Even as Trump was speaking, Tesla CEO Musk unleashed a series of critical responses on X, the social media site he owns.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” he wrote. “Such ingratitude.”
Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla were down 9% after the outbursts, to their lowest level since late February.
The back-and-forth made it clear tensions had reached a boiling point after weeks of speculation that they were headed for a clash of egos.
Starting on Tuesday, the tech executive unleashed a series of blistering attacks against what Trump calls his “big, beautiful bill”. Musk called the tax and spending bill a “disgusting abomination” that would deepen the federal deficit.
Nonpartisan analysts say the bill could add $2.4-trillion to $5-trillion to the nation’s $36.2-trillion in debt. Trump asserted that Musk’s complaints were motivated by the proposed elimination of consumer tax credits for electric vehicles.
Musk also wrote, “Slim Beautiful Bill for the win,” adding “KILL the BILL.” He followed that up by saying he was fine with Trump’s planned cuts to electric vehicle credits as long as Republicans rid the bill of “mountain of disgusting pork” or wasteful spending.
Musk came into government with brash plans to cut $2-trillion from the federal budget. He left last week having cut only about half of 1% of total spending.
Trump suggested that Musk was upset because he missed working for Trump, who gave Musk a praise-filled send-off last week after the billionaire oversaw the president’s federal bureaucracy cost-cutting campaign.
‘Hostile’
“He’s not the first,” Trump said. “People leave my administration ... then at some point they miss it so badly, and some of them embrace it and some of them actually become hostile.”
Trump also suggested that he may terminate US government contracts and subsidies given to Elon Musk’s companies.
“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump said in another Truth Social post.
Musk, whose other companies include rocket company and government contractor SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink, spent nearly $300m in the 2024 election in support of Trump and other Republican candidates.
After serving as the biggest Republican donor in the 2024 campaign season, Musk became one of Trump’s most visible advisers as the head of the department of government efficiency (Doge), which mounted a sweeping effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.
Musk was frequently present at the White House and made multiple appearances on Capitol Hill, sometimes carrying his young son.
Musk had signalled that he planned to step back from politics, saying last month he planned to substantially scale back his political spending.
Soon after Trump’s Oval Office comments, Musk polled his 220 million followers on X: "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?"
Friction between him and Trump could hurt Republicans’ chances of keeping control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.
Musk’s Doge eliminated thousands of federal jobs and cut billions of dollars in foreign aid and other programmes, causing disruption across federal agencies and fuelling a wave of legal challenges.
His increasing focus on politics provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites in the US and Europe, driving down sales and adding to investor concerns that Musk’s attention was too divided.
In departing the administration, Musk made it clear he planned to focus more of his time on his business empire.
After Trump’s remarks, a White House official, speaking on background, underscored the shift in the once-close dynamic between Musk and Trump.
“The president is making it clear: this White House is not beholden to Elon Musk on policy,” the official said. “By attacking the bill the way he did, Musk has clearly picked a side.”
Reuters
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