‘Very serious consequences': Donald Trump threatens Elon Musk if he bankrolls Democrats amid heated stoush
US President Donald Trump has threatened tech billionaire Elon Musk with 'very serious consequences' if he bankrolls Democrat candidates at the next election.
The pair have traded barbs with one another through social media following disagreements over Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill".
In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to say what possible consequences would be, and went on to add that he had not had discussions about whether to investigate Musk.
Asked if he thought his relationship with the Tesla CEO was over, Trump said, "I would assume so".
When asked if he had any desire to repair his relationship with Musk, the President said, 'No'.
"I have no intention of speaking to him," Trump said.
However, Trump said he had not thought about terminating US government contracts with Musk's businesses, StarLink and SpaceX.
Musk and Trump began exchanging insults this week, as Musk denounced Trump's bill as a "disgusting abomination".
Musk's opposition to the measure complicated efforts to pass the legislation in Congress, where Republicans hold only slim majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate.
The bill narrowly passed the House last month and is now before the Senate, where Trump's fellow Republicans are considering making changes.
Analysts estimate the measure would add $2.4 trillion to the $36.2 trillion US debt over 10 years, which worries many lawmakers, including some Republicans who are fiscal hawks.
Musk also declared it was time for a new political party in the United States "to represent the 80 per cent in the middle".
On Thursday, Trump said he was "disappointed" in Musk who had earlier described the bill as a "disgusting abomination", before accusing the president of being in files relating to dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Asked about the feud on a phone call with CNN, the President kept his response short.
'I'm not even thinking about Elon," he said on Friday (local time).
"He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem."
CNN host Dana Bash then asked the President if he had spoken to Musk.
'No. I won't be speaking to him for a while I guess, but I wish him well," he said.
The bitter feud has also led to the President to consider selling or even giving away the red Tesla Model S he purchased earlier this year, a senior White House official said.
Musk has deleted some social media posts critical of Trump, including one that signalled support for impeaching the president, appearing to seek a de-escalation of their public feud.
-with Reuters
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