Tensions brew as Trump and Musk exchange words on social media
Donald Trump and Elon Musk exchanged accusations and insults on their respective social media platforms on Thursday. The American President threatened the tech mogul to cut his government contracts, while Musk accused Trump of being involved in the Epstein scandal.
Once political allies, now apparent adversaries, Trump and Musk did not hold back during their exchange on social media. The two billionaires, who both own their platforms, attacked each other, starting a public feud that stems from their disagreement concerning the "The One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
"I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot," said Trump to reporters during a meeting with the new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Thursday. The President asserted that Musk has been well-informed about the "inner workings of the bill," which the Tesla owner dismissed as a false claim.
After this initial exchange, the series of social media posts from both men followed. Musk shared a post on his platform X, saying, "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate." In response, Trump took to his TruthSocial platform to threaten Musk with cutting his government contracts. "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," wrote the President.
The heated back-and-forth continued as Musk accused Trump of being in the "Epstein files," which refers to the American President’s alleged ties to a convicted billionaire who died in prison in 2019. In turn, Trump claimed that Elon had become increasingly "difficult" during his term as a presidential advisor, prompting them to remove him and revoke an EV mandate, something Elon is said to have known was coming, which allegedly triggered an extreme reaction from him.
The end of a fairytale
Their abrupt split brought an end to a partnership that had lasted nearly a year, during which Musk played a key role in boosting Trump’s rise to his second term and emerged as one of his chief advisers, leading a sweeping initiative to significantly cut government personnel and contracts, an effort that is said to have deeply unsettled the federal bureaucracy.
Elon Musk have contributed both politically and financially to Donald Trump’s campaign. According to the "NYT," Musk spent approximately $275 million (€240 million), with a further $100 million (€87 million) promised to be paid to political groups associated with the President.
By midday on Thursday, as the clash erupted, Tesla’s stock dropped 14 per cent, while shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, declined by 8 per cent.
