Allies To Rivals To Allies Again? Timeline Of Musk-Trump Feud

NDTV

a day ago

It was the third week of Donald Trump's second term in the Oval Office. His most trusted lieutenant, Elon Musk, led a massive initiative, Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE), to slash federal spending. On February 7, the billionaire, who spent roughly $300 million on the Republican candidate's election campaign, posted on X, "I love@realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man."
Much water has flown under the bridge since Musk proclaimed his love for Trump. Almost everything has changed. The Tesla CEO is no longer a part of the Trump administration, and the duo has had an ugly fallout, all in public.
And now, Musk has blinked, admitting he went "too far" in his recent online attacks against Trump.
"I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week," the Tesla CEO wrote on X. "They went too far."
The feud started after Musk called Trump's tax bill a "disgusting abomination." It quickly spiralled, with the billionaire suggesting the President be impeached and accusing the government of hiding his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender.
Timeline: The Trump-Musk Feud
May 29
Elon Musk announced he would be stepping down from his role in the Trump administration after finishing his term as a special government employee. He led DoGE.
June 2
Donald Trump defended his landmark economic proposal, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill," on Truth Social, "Many false statements are being made about our big, beautiful bill."
June 3
Elon Musk posted a fiery critique of Trump's spending bill. "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," he wrote on X.
He added in a follow-up post, "It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt."
June 4
Elon Musk suggested Congress needs to write a new bill. "A new spending bill should be drafted that doesn't massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by 5 TRILLION DOLLARS," he said.
June 5
Musk asked to " Kill the bill." "Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL."
The same day, in response to Trump saying Musk was upset over EV subsidy cuts, Musk posted, "Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill."
"In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that is both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!" "Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way."
Then came the bombshell.
"Time to drop the really big bomb: Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!," Musk wrote in an X post, which he later deleted.
Musk even appeared to support Trump's impeachment.
At the White House, Trump replied, "Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more. Very disappointed in Elon."
He also revealed Musk was "aware" of the bill. Musk shot back, "False. This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress would even read it!"
Then came more jabs. "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," he said.
"The Big Ugly Bill will INCREASE the deficit to $2.5 trillion," he added.
He even proposed a new party, "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?"
Musk also dug up Trump's old 2012-2013 tweets slamming government overspending, calling him out and asking, "Where is this guy today??"
June 6
Trump fired back on Truth Social. He wrote, "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!"
He added, "The easiest way to save money in our Budget is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts".
He also said, "I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago."
Elon Musk said, "If this bill passes, we will decommission our Dragon capsules and halt cooperation with NASA's deep space initiatives." He later took back his words.
Musk also posted, "Tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year."
Asked about Musk in an ABC interview, Donald Trump said, "You mean the man who has lost his mind?" He also warned of "serious consequences" if Musk supports Democrats in 2026, and said he had no plans to reconcile.
Later that day, Musk appeared to soften. Replying to billionaire Bill Ackman's peace offer, he said, " You're not wrong."
June 10
Trump told reporters, "I just wish [Musk] well."
Musk responded to the video with a red heart emoji on X.
June 11