From Frenemy To Fanboy To Fallout: Elon Musk's Rollercoaster Ride With Trump Explained
Last Updated:
Elon Musk is set to exit the Trump administration. The duo were not besties since ever as they hurled insults at each other until some years ago.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is set to exit the Donald Trump administration as his term comes to a close by the end of May. A lot took place during his short tenure as a government employee, as his much-talked-about bromance with the US President appeared to sour towards the end of his term.
Nonetheless, he expressed gratitude to Trump for giving him the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending in the government.
'As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government," Musk posted on X, announcing his exit.
After his victory in the 2024 Presidential election, Trump announced Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, as a 'Special Government Employee", which allows a person to work in the government capacity for 130 days a year.
advetisement
Since the January 20 inauguration, Musk has worked closely with Trump to reduce government spending. However, lately he has had some public disagreements with Trump, including the law proposed by the government, which Trump dubbed a 'big beautiful bill".
Musk's relationship with Trump has not been rosy since ever, with the duo hurling insults at each other not too long ago, until the Tesla CEO ended up endorsing Trump as a candidate for the US President last year. A look at how critics turned 'besties" and then the ultimate fallout.
Pre-Trump-Musk Bromance Era
In 2016, Musk was not the biggest fan of his future bestie, as he publicly said that Trump was not fit to run for the US President.
'I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy. He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States," Musk had told CNBC during an interview at that time.
However, his doubts didn't seem to last long. Just a month after Trump won his first election, Musk was appointed to an economic advisory council by Trump, along with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
In June 2017, the duo's professional relationship took a hit after Trump announced that the US would be withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, as Musk went on to tender his resignation from his positions on the presidential advisory boards.
'Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," Musk then tweeted.
2022 saw see-saw remarks by Trump about Musk as he described Musk as one of the world's 'great geniuses" in January that year, while also likening him to Thomas Edison. However, by July, Trump flipped his stance to refer to Musk as 'another bulls*** artist".
Advertisement
While speaking about free speech at a rally in Anchorage, Alaska, Trump talked about Musk's promise to buy the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
'Elon is not going to buy Twitter… he said the other day 'Oh, I've never voted for a Republican'. I said 'I didn't know that'. He told me he voted for me. So he's another bulls*** artist," Trump said.
Musk responded to the video clip, 'I don't hate the man, but it's time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset."
By October, Musk officially completed the acquisition of Twitter.
Timeline Of Musk's Tenure With Trump
By September 2023, Musk started aligning himself with Trump's policies, including those on immigration. He spoke in favour of a US border wall with Mexico, which was a hot topic during the election campaign.
advetisement
'We actually do need a wall and we need to require people to have some shred of evidence to claim asylum to enter, as everyone is doing that…" Musk said.
In March 2024, Musk had said that he would not donate to either candidate in the presidential election. However, in July, when Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the billionaire extended support to Trump.
Soon after bullets were fired at Trump, during which he suffered injuries to his right ear, Musk endorsed the Republican leader and committed nearly $45 million a month to a new pro-Trump super PAC called America PAC.
In October 2024, Musk made his first public appearance with Trump at a rally and jumped onto the stage, donning a black 'Make America Great Again' cap.
'As you can see, I'm not just MAGA — I'm dark MAGA," he told the crowd.
advetisement
Musk has also attended the Cabinet meetings chaired by Trump, during which he detailed the work being done by his department to cut down spending.
He had joined the administration with a promise to cut at least $1 trillion from the US federal budget. However, according to the DOGE website, it has only saved around $175 billion so far — which comes out to about $1,088.96 for each US taxpayer.
During the first Cabinet meeting in February this year, he even claimed that he was getting death threats for the work they were doing for the department. 'I'm taking a lot of flak and getting a lot of death threats, by the way. We simply cannot sustain, as a country, $2 trillion deficits," he had said.
Tesla Boycott
After Musk joined Trump's second term as DOGE chief, his department either fired or offered early retirement deals to around 100,000 federal workers. It also gained access to the private personal and financial details of millions of Americans.
As Musk became a firm voice of the administration, Tesla bore the brunt as its facilities across the country faced protests and vandalism.
Thousands of citizens hit the roads in parts of the US, launching 'Tesla Takedown" protests – many of them were peaceful, however, some were even violent with fires intentionally set at Tesla showrooms and charging stations in Colorado and Massachusetts.
Hundreds of protesters had also occupied a Tesla showroom in New York, leading to the arrest of six persons.
Trump-Musk Fallout
Musk had recently expressed his 'disappointment" with the Trump administration's main legislative plan, which the President described as a 'big beautiful bill". This legislation included tax cuts and tougher immigration policies.
In a CBS interview, Musk described it as a 'massive spending bill" that he believed would increase the national debt and hurt the progress his DOGE team had been working on.
'I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful. But I don't know if it could be both," Musk said.
Reacting to Musk's remarks, Trump still backed the bill, stating, 'I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it."
top videos
View All
Sources earlier told Mediate that Trump is now becoming 'annoyed" with his 'first buddy" after Musk engaged in a public spat with other members of the MAGA over H1B visas.
'100 percent Trump is annoyed," a source who worked on Trump's re-election campaign told the outlet earlier this year.
Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated!
tags :
donald trump elon musk
Location :
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:
May 29, 2025, 07:50 IST
News world From Frenemy To Fanboy To Fallout: Elon Musk's Rollercoaster Ride With Trump Explained
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
38 minutes ago
- Economic Times
DOGE's latest action amid crackdown on federal spending days after Elon Musk quits Trump team
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) deactivated 523,000 federal credit cards after a 13-week audit aimed at curbing government spending. This comes merely two days after DOGE chief Elon Musk quit the Trump administration. This initiative, launched by President Trump and led by Elon Musk, targeted non-essential expenses across 32 agencies. While supporters claim it reduces waste, critics argue it disrupts essential services, as seen with TSA's bomb-sniffing dog unit purchases. Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, has confirmed that he is stepping away from the White House, where he has served as a senior adviser to the president. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads DOGE freezes employees' credit cards Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Two days after tech billionaire Elon Musk left the Trump administration, the Department of Government Efficiency DOGE ) has announced the cancellation of more than half a million government credit cards amid its crackdown on federal spending. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, DOGE said it had deactivated 523,000 credit cards following a 13-week cancellations include credit cards from various federal agencies—including NASA, the General Services Administration; the Office of Personnel Management; and the departments of the Treasury, Education, Interior, Commerce, Agriculture and State."After 13 weeks, the program to audit unused/unneeded credit cards across 32 agencies has resulted in ~523k de-activated cards. As a reminder, at the start of the audit, there were ~4.6M active cards/accounts - we are now expanding the program to more agencies, as there is much more work to do," the post Ryan, the founder of told Newsweek in March: "These aren't your typical consumer credit cards. We're looking at lifelines for federal agencies—cards that keep the lights on, quite literally. Need to book a last-minute flight for a critical meeting? There's a card for that. Emergency maintenance part for a military vehicle? Yep, another card. Office supplies for a research lab working on something that could change the world? You guessed it—another card."In February, Trump's executive order froze almost all agency employee credit cards, with the exception of those who used them for "disaster relief or natural disaster response benefits or operations or other critical services." Agency heads and DOGE leaders also permitted categorical and individual exemptions to some government credit card February 18, DOGE announced it was collaborating with federal agencies to streamline credit card usage and cut administrative expenses. The initiative targeted the approximately 4.6 million federal credit cards and 90 million individual transactions recorded in fiscal year 2024. Shortly afterward, President Donald Trump issued an executive order mandating a 30-day freeze on agency employee credit of DOGE's cost-cutting measures argue that they help curb waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending. However, critics contend that the reductions have disrupted federal agency operations, making it harder to purchase essential supplies and pay for critical services and this month, DOGE suspended more than half a million federal credit cards in its ongoing effort to slash government spending. The task force, led by billionaire Elon Musk and launched by President Donald Trump earlier this year, announced that credit cards from 32 federal agencies have been deactivated as part of the by executive order following Trump's return to office in January, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was charged with downsizing the federal workforce and eliminating waste. With $40 billion in annual federal spending previously routed through government-issued credit cards, DOGE launched a deactivation campaign targeting non-essential expenses that often accumulate unnoticed across March, DOGE announced it had suspended 200,000 cards across 16 agencies. That number has since more than doubled, now exceeding 500,000 deactivations across 32 agencies. However, cuts of this magnitude have already led to operational instance, when TSA's credit cards were affected in March, officials temporarily couldn't make purchases for their bomb-sniffing dog units. "Credit card purchases have been restricted for 30 days," a TSA spokesperson told Newsweek at the time, "but canine operations have not been adversely affected by this effort."Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, has confirmed that he is stepping away from the White House, where he has served as a senior adviser to the X, he said that despite his departure, which comes as the 130-day limit on his tenure as a special government employee approaches, DOGE's "mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."
News18
38 minutes ago
- News18
Who Is Megan Cassella, Journalist Behind ‘TACO' Trade Question That Angered Trump?
Last Updated: Donald Trump was questioned about TACO trade by CNBC correspondent Megan Cassella during a press conference at the Oval Office on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump has been making the headlines once again. This time, it was his reaction to the term 'TACO trade' that caught everyone's attention. The US President was questioned by a reporter about the term TACO or Trump Always Chickens Out during a press conference at the Oval Office on Wednesday. The term refers to Trump's tactic of announcing high tariffs on other countries and later backing down. The question left the leader visibly angry as he defended his trade policies. Trump was questioned about TACO trade by CNBC correspondent Megan Cassella. 'Mr President, Wall Street analysts have coined a new term called the Taco trade. They're saying 'Trump Always Chickens Out' (Taco) on your tariff threats. And that's why markets are higher this week. 'What's your response to that?" she asked. In response, Trump said his negotiating tactics had led to $14 trillion in new investment in the US. The figure could not be independently verified, according to the Associated Press. He also claimed that European Union leaders had asked him to set a meeting for negotiations, which led him to delay a 50 per cent levy on EU goods to July 9. Trump rejected the term 'TACO trade' and called it the 'nastiest question." The acronym TACO was coined by Robert Armstrong, a commentator for Financial Times, to denote Trump's volatile back-and-forth regarding tariffs on imported goods. The US President had announced a 145 per cent levy on goods imported from China, later pulling the figure to 30 per cent to allow for 90 days of negotiations. A similar situation was seen with the imposition of universal tariffs and levies on auto and electronics. The flip-flop by Donald Trump has had a corresponding effect on the markets. When tariffs are announced, investors sell off. Conversely, stocks rebound when the tariff decisions are reversed. Who Is Megan Cassella? A correspondent for CNBC, Cassella is known for her reporting on policy decisions by Washington DC. A journalism and international politics graduate from the University of North Carolina, she earlier worked at Politico. There, she covered the Biden administration's economic policy transition, and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Before joining CNBC, she worked as Barron's senior economics and policy reporter. She covered the US economy and the Federal Reserve with a focus on the labour market and inflation. First Published:
New Indian Express
41 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
European benchmarks rise while Asian shares finished lower amid uncertainty over Trump's tariffs
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.2% to 23,289.77, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.5% to 3,347.49. Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of International Trade said that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act that Trump cited for ordering massive increases in taxes on imports from around the world does not authorize the use of tariffs. The ruling at first raised hopes in financial markets that a hamstrung Trump would not be able to drive the economy into a recession with his tariffs, which had threatened to grind down on global trade and raise prices for consumers already sick of high inflation. But the tariffs remain in place for now while the White House appeals the ruling, and the ultimate outcome is still uncertain. The court's ruling also affects only some of Trump's tariffs, not those on foreign steel, aluminum and autos, which were invoked under a different law. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday allowed the president to temporarily continue collecting the tariffs under the emergency powers law while he appeals the trade court's decision. Un energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 24 cents to $61.18 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 23 cents to $64.38 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar declined to 143.96 Japanese yen from 144.12 yen. The euro cost $1.1342, down from $1.1367. (By YURI KAGEYAMA)
