Trump-Musk feud: Here's a look at how things escalated
Trump, Musk going through 'big, beautiful breakup'
The rift between President Trump and Elon Musk seems to be impacting the Senate’s ability to pass the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, according to National Journal Correspondent Savannah Behrmann. She joined LiveNOW's Andrew Craft to discuss this back and forth happening in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s relationship imploded this week as their feud quickly escalated. The two angrily posted about each other on social media.
During a meeting with the German chancellor on Thursday, Trump suggested that Musk, who left the White House in May after running the Department of Government Efficiency, misses the Oval Office and has "Trump derangement syndrome."
Trump later threatened Musk's billions of dollars in government contracts and Musk retorted on social media alleging that Trump is "in the Epstein files."
Trump and Musk exchange barbs on social media
Dig deeper:
The rift between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk played out publicly on social media as the two hurled criticisms at the other.
"I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it." — Musk, posted on X Tuesday.
He then escalated his criticism of Trump's "big, beautiful" budget bill, with the billionaire calling on Republican lawmakers to vote down the bill and threatened political retribution against those who took Trump's side. "In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people," Musk posted on X.
RELATED: Musk says 'Trump is in the Epstein files' as public feud escalates
Trump said Musk had worn out his welcome at the White House and was mad that Trump was changing electric vehicle policies in ways that would financially harm Musk-led Tesla.
"Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!" Trump wrote.
FILE-Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, accompanied by President Donald Trump (R), and his son X Musk, speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty
Trump added: "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!"
"Time to drop the really big bomb: Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!" — Musk, Thursday, X post.
In a series of posts, Musk put the spotlight on ties between Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who killed himself while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
How did the feud start?
The backstory:
A rift began between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk as Trump pursued tariffs that could raise costs for Musk's businesses.
The Associated Press reported that Musk said Peter Navarro, the president's trade adviser, was "truly a moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks" on April 8.
RELATED: Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill is a 'disgusting abomination,' Elon Musk now says
Musk, who had never before worked in public service, apparently started to sour on government. The billionaire suggested there wasn't enough political will, either in Congress or in the White House, to lower spending.
Trump began hinting that it was time for Musk to leave even though Musk said he would be willing to stay. Shortly before announcing he was leaving the White House, Musk said he was "disappointed" by legislation that Trump called the "big beautiful bill" because it would increase the deficit.
The proposed legislation would increase the deficit while eliminating tax incentives that have helped his electric automaker Tesla. Trump responded by threatening to cut government subsidies and contracts for Musk’s companies, and things only escalated.
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"I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful," Musk said. "But I don’t know if it could be both."
Musk escalated his attacks on the bill Tuesday, calling it a "disgusting abomination," and Trump tried to fend off the criticism.
"He hasn’t said bad about me personally, but I’m sure that will be next," the president said Thursday in the Oval Office during a meeting with the German chancellor.
Musk hopped on X to express his anger at Trump, saying his tariffs "will cause a recession in the second half of this year" and accusing him of lying. He also said it was "very unfair" that the legislation would eliminate tax incentives for electric vehicles.
The Associated Press noted that Trump responded as he tried to maintain momentum for his legislation.
"I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago," the president posted. "This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress."
Musk's SpaceX Dragon threats
Tesla loses $150B in value amid Elon-Trump feud
Shares of Elon Musk's electrical vehicle company Tesla plunged more than 14% on Thursday as investors dumped their holding amid the war of words between President Trump and Elon Musk. The feud causing Tesla to lose $150B in value. According to FOX News Trump is planning to either sell or giveaway his own Tesla.
Amid the fighting, Musk also threatened on X Thursday to decommission the SpaceX Dragon capsule, which is used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station.
A few hours later, Musk said he wouldn’t follow through on the threat.
After Trump threatened to cut government contracts given to Musk’s SpaceX rocket company and his Starlink internet satellite services, Musk responded via X that SpaceX "will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately."
RELATED: Elon Musk unveils SpaceX's latest plans for colonizing Mars
It was unclear how serious Musk’s threat was, but several hours later — in a reply to another X user — he said he wouldn’t do it.
SpaceX is the only U.S. company capable right now of transporting crews to and from the space station, using its four-person Dragon capsules.
The capsule, developed with the help of government contracts, is an important part of keeping the space station running. NASA also relies heavily on SpaceX for other programs including launching science missions and, later this decade, returning astronauts to the surface of the moon.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press and social media posts from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.