Things have gone from awkward to full-on nuclear between Donald Trump and Elon Musk. What was once a bizarre political bromance has now unraveled into a headline-grabbing feud packed with insults, threats, and some serious money on the line.
It all started when Elon Musk slammed Trump’s huge government spending bill earlier this week, calling it an “abomination.” Trump, never one to take criticism lightly, didn’t hold back. By Thursday, he was calling Musk “very disappointed,” and by Friday, he took it even further.
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Speaking to ABC, Trump dismissed any plans to speak with Musk, saying, “You mean the man who has lost his mind?” He told Fox News that Musk had “lost it,” and CNN quoted him saying, “I’m not even thinking about Elon… The poor guy’s got a problem.”
The president’s remarks were a sharp turnaround from just a week earlier, when he had publicly praised Musk for his brief four-month stint running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency Trump created to cut federal spending. But after Musk blasted Trump’s mega-bill—which many critics say could raise the deficit while slashing healthcare for millions—the gloves came off.
Inside sources told AFP that Trump scrapped a planned call with Musk and is even thinking of getting rid of the cherry red Tesla he bought back in March during their more amicable days. “He’s thinking about it, yes,” a senior White House official confirmed, noting the car was still parked on White House grounds.
The situation escalated quickly. After Trump’s public jabs, Musk fired back, accusing the president—without offering any proof—of being named in government files tied to Jeffrey Epstein. That drew an even sharper response from Trump, who reportedly threatened to cancel SpaceX’s lucrative NASA and satellite contracts. In a sign that Musk might be feeling the heat, he backed away from earlier hints about scrapping the company’s Dragon spacecraft program, which is vital to NASA missions.
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Meanwhile, the tech mogul has gone quiet online, noticeably absent from his own X (formerly Twitter) platform after days of fiery posts. The White House confirmed there are no plans for Trump and Musk to talk, though one official said Musk had requested a call.
Adding to the drama, Tesla’s stock took a major hit—plunging more than 14 percent on Thursday, wiping out around $100 billion in market value, though it rebounded slightly on Friday.
Trump may be riding high for now, but Musk isn’t without leverage. He was Trump’s biggest individual donor in 2024, pouring nearly $300 million into the campaign. With midterms coming up in 2026, any hope for more of that support is now up in the air—and Musk’s war chest could just as easily fund candidates who chip away at Trump’s base.
From luxury cars and NASA deals to campaign dollars and social media shade, this Trump-Musk breakup is more than personal—it’s political, financial, and possibly historic.