Trump-Musk meltdown: key moments in the billionaires' spectacular split
Breaking up is hard to do, and even harder if you are a billionaire who decides to break up with another billionaire on the two social media platforms you own, while the world watches in real time. Here are the key moments as the relationship between the US president, Donald Trump, and his former senior adviser Elon Musk unravelled in spectacular fashion, precipitated by a dispute over a colossal spending bill that could have major consequences for years to come.
CBS previewed an interview, scheduled for that weekend, in which Musk said Trump's proposed tax and spending bill 'undermines' the cost-cutting efforts of the 'department of government efficiency' (Doge), which he led.
Musk announced on social media that he was leaving his role in the Trump administration, a departure that the White House confirmed was in process on the same evening. '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 billionaire wrote on X, his social media platform.
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.
In the Oval Office, Trump praised Musk for his service, presenting him with a golden key and lauding the 'colossal change' he brought through Doge – which in four months entered dozens of federal departments, accessed sensitive data and led to the elimination of thousands of jobs, though the ultimate savings were far, far less than Musk had promised.
Standing alongside Trump in the Oval Office, Musk, who faced a 130-day limit in his tenure as a special government employee that had ended two days prior, vowed that his departure was 'not the end' of Doge, and that it would 'only strengthen over time'.
Musk seemed to release a pent-up frustration on X. He said: 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore', then derided the administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, calling it a 'massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill' that was 'a disgusting abomination'.
I'm sorry, but 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.
Musk doubled down in the early hours, claiming the bill 'more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the Doge team at great personal cost and risk'.
It more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the @DOGE team at great personal cost and risk
While hosting the freshly appointed German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Trump skimmed over the diplomatic niceties and instead used the opportunity to engage in a freewheeling discussion about Musk that started positively but got progressively less pleasant.
He began by needling Musk for appearing in the Oval Office with a black eye. 'You saw a man who was very happy when he stood behind the Oval desk. And even with the black eye. I said: 'Do you want a little makeup? We'll get you a little makeup.' But he said: 'No, I don't think so.'' (Musk claimed last week that he got the black eye when his five-year-old son, X Æ A-12, punched him in the face.)
Trump then said he had 'had' a great relationship with the Tesla boss, but 'I don't know if we will any more', adding: 'I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot.' He then accused Musk of being upset that the bill would take away subsidies for electric vehicles.
It got worse. 'If you saw the statements he made about me, which I'm sure you can get very easily, it's very fresh on tape, he said the most beautiful things about me, and he hasn't said bad about me personally,' Trump said, but then added, presciently: 'But I'm sure that'll be next.'
He went on to accuse Musk of missing the glamour of being in the Oval Office, saying that sometimes people leave his administration and become 'hostile' because of 'Trump derangement syndrome'. 'They leave and they wake up in the morning, and the glamour is gone. The whole world is different, and they become hostile, I don't know what it is,' the president added.
Merz's face during all this was a picture.
(.)
Musk, who somehow despite running multiple companies never seems to be offline, was watching the Oval Office meeting and responding in real time. Trump's claim that Musk had known what was in the bill was false, Musk said. He wrote that it 'was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it'.
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 could even read it! https://t.co/V4ztekqd4g
But what appeared to really get under his skin was Trump saying on Thursday he would have won the presidential election without Musk's help or money. Replying to an X user, Musk said: '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.'
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
Less than two hours after the White House event, Musk posted a poll on X, asking: 'Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?'
Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?
At the time of writing, 80% of X users who responded had said 'Yes'.
He then gave us all something to chew on: 'Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years …' Elon Musk is 53 years old.
Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years …
Ashley St Clair, a rightwing influencer thought to have had a baby called Romulus with Musk, popped up to offer the president some counselling.
hey @realDonaldTrump lmk if u need any breakup advice
Trump was not having any of this: what billionaire narcissist would? He took to the social media platform he owns to claim that he had asked Musk to leave his work with the 'Doge' office because he was, Trump said, 'wearing thin'.
'I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy electric Cars that nobody else wanted … and he just went CRAZY!' Trump wrote, then brazenly suggested he would 'terminate Elon's governmental subsidies and contracts'.
Musk immediately responded: 'Such an obvious lie. So sad.'
Such an obvious lie. So sad. https://t.co/sOu9vqMVfX
Then he upped the ante. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: Donald Trump is in the Epstein files,' referring to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
'That is the real reason they have not been made public,' Musk wrote, adding in a separate post: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.'
Time to drop the really big bomb:@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.Have a nice day, DJT!
Musk, of course, has himself been pictured with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of sex-trafficking in 2021. Both men deny any wrongdoing.
Ye, an erstwhile ally of both men – who has been dropped by sponsors and fans over his antisemitic outbursts – posts: 'Broooos please noooooo,' adding: 'We love you both so much.'
Broooos please noooooo 🫂 We love you both so much
Musk had earlier been reposting the House speaker, Mike Johnson, criticising the Joe Biden administration in 2023 for 'an endless cycle of out-of-control deficit spending'. 'Where is the Mike Johnson of 2023!?' Musk asked.
Johnson took the bait.
'The Mike Johnson of 2023 is the SAME Mike Johnson who has always been a lifelong fiscal hawk,' he said in a lengthy post. X users were unimpressed and the post wound up with a community note disputing its accuracy.
The Mike Johnson of 2023 is the SAME Mike Johnson who has always been a lifelong fiscal hawk - who now serves as Speaker and is implementing a multi-stage plan to get our country back to fiscal responsibility and extraordinary economic growth. It begins with the critically… https://t.co/8c2l3bTdk1
Gnomically, the US president wrote: 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago.'
Musk then threatened to withhold the spacecraft that Nasa has used to travel to and from the International Space Station – which would leave astronauts dependent on Boeing or Russia to get them home. 'SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,' he wrote. As a reminder, Musk is 53.
In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately pic.twitter.com/NG9sijjkgW
Musk ratcheted things up even further when he amplified a tweet by Gamergater Ian Miles Cheong calling for Trump to be impeached. (If it happened, it would be for a record third time.)
Yes https://t.co/rqRsX8B4Hg
Having backed the US president to the hilt during the election campaign, and joined his administration, Musk then declared: 'The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year.'
The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year https://t.co/rbBC11iynE
With an 'eyebrow raised' emoji, Musk posted a well-known NBC video of Trump with Epstein at a party in 1992, dancing, joking and making comments about women.
🤨 https://t.co/DTdfJWydLS
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, described the feud as 'an unfortunate episode from Elon'.
Musk posted a meme referring to the persistent online suggestions that he uses ketamine and to his associating Trump with Epstein. In 2024, Musk said he uses the drug on prescription for medical reasons.
😂🎯 https://t.co/hKhIMhKizZ
… but then shortly before 7am a reporter asked Trump about the supposed phone call he was going to have with Musk later in the day. 'You mean the man who has lost his mind?' Trump asked. Here we go again …
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