Donald Trump Looking to Get Rid of Tesla He Bought From Elon Musk: Report
Trump bought the car in response to "Radical Left Lunatics" boycotting Musk's companies for his ties to the administration
Since Musk left his White House role on May 30, the former allies have been publicly feuding over Trump's government spending bill
President Donald Trump is ridding the White House of Elon Musk mementos.
ABC News reported on Friday that Trump is considering "either giving away or selling" the red Tesla Model S he bought in March to support Musk, per a senior administration official.
The president purchased the electric vehicle, valued at around $80,000, after the pair posed in front of the White House with several Tesla vehicles on March 11. The stunt was a response to "Radical Left Lunatics" boycotting Musk's company over his ties to the Trump administration, Trump said on Truth Social at the time.
However, Musk left his role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on May 30 and has been publicly feuding with the president ever since.
Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" is the main point of contention for the tech billionaire, who has complained that the behemoth government spending plan will undo any savings he and DOGE brought to the administration.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk posted to X on June 3. "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."
The pair have continued to trade barbs all week. Musk claimed that Trump is named in the infamous Jeffrey Epstein files, alleging that's why they haven't been released to the public as promised. Trump threatened to cut off Musk's government subsidies and contracts. The SpaceX CEO then agreed with an X user who called for Trump to be impeached, while MAGA advisor Steve Bannon called for Musk to be deported.
During an Oval Office press conference on June 5 — minutes after Musk reposted some of Trump's old tweets to use his 2013 criticisms of the debt ceiling against him — the president said he was "disappointed" by the recent social media attacks, and hinted that the Tesla brand might be a major reason for Musk's ire.
"Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anyone sitting here," the president claimed. "He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to have to cut the [electric vehicle] mandate, because that's billions and billions of dollars."
"Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump added, noting the past tense. "I don't know if we will anymore."
The feud has gone viral, with plenty of politicians, pundits and social media users poking fun at the spat between the former allies. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joked with Spectrum 1 News on June 5, saying, 'Oh man, the girls are fighting, aren't they?'
'You know, I would say that this was something that was a long time coming, where we've been seeing that these two huge egos were not long for being together in this world as friends,' Ocasio-Cortez added. 'And so I think this breakup, we've been seeing a long time coming. But we'll see what the impacts are of it, legislatively.'
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