Elon Musk deletes post claiming Trump appears in Epstein files amid ongoing feud
Elon Musk on Sunday deleted a controversial post in which he claimed that US President Donald Trump appears in the unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files, a move that may signal a cooling of tensions after days of public sparring between the two billionaires.
'Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' Musk had posted on X, the platform he owns, on Thursday. In a follow-up, he urged followers to 'mark this post for the future' because 'the truth will come out.'
Both posts have been deleted.
The accusation marked a dramatic escalation in Musk's ongoing feud with Trump, which began over the president's support for a controversial bill dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill.' Musk, who has slammed the legislation as a 'disgusting abomination,' claimed it was rushed through without proper scrutiny and accused the administration of betraying EV makers like Tesla.
Trump, speaking at a press briefing, dismissed Musk's concerns and said: 'Elon's upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money… I can understand why he's upset.'
The feud spiralled after Trump said he was 'disappointed' in Musk. Musk fired back, saying, 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51–49 in the Senate… Such ingratitude.'
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But hours after the Epstein claim, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman publicly urged Musk to reconcile with Trump. Musk's short reply — 'You're not wrong' — coupled with the deletion of the post, has been interpreted by some as a sign of de-escalation.
— elonmusk (@elonmusk)
Though Trump's name has appeared in various documents related to Epstein, including flight logs and contact books, no charges have been brought against him.
The White House reportedly called Musk's comments 'an unfortunate episode,' while Trump, in a call with
Politico
, played down the spat, saying, 'It's going very well, never done better.'
Musk has not explained why he deleted the post, but the timing suggests an attempt to contain the fallout from a claim that could have far-reaching political consequences.
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