Trump Says ‘Great Relationship' With Elon Musk May Be Over

Yahoo

2 days ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 5, 2025. Credit - Brendan Smialowski—AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Thursday publicly acknowledged for the first time his deteriorating relationship with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who once held a high-level advisory role in his Administration, saying he was 'very disappointed' in Musk's recent turn against the President's flagship tax-and-spending bill.
'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore,' Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. 'I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot.'
Trump's remarks confirmed what had already been visible behind the scenes: a once-close alliance between two of the most powerful figures in the Republican Party is unraveling just days after Musk left his position as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Since leaving Trump's side, Musk has strongly criticized Trump's 'one big, beautiful bill,' which passed the House last month and now faces a contentious battle in the Senate. The package, a centerpiece of the President's domestic agenda, includes across-the-board tax cuts and sweeping reductions in federal spending. But it also phases out key incentives for electric vehicles—an industry on which Musk has built much of his wealth and influence through Tesla.
Musk began his public campaign against the bill on Tuesday, using X, the social media service he owns, to call the package a 'disgusting abomination.' Dozens more posts attacking it followed, with the world's richest person warning that the bill would 'massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit' and urging his more than 200 million followers to pressure lawmakers to 'KILL the BILL.' Adding fuel to the fire was a new Congressional Budget Office estimate released this week that found the measure would increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, despite containing more than $1.2 trillion in proposed spending cuts.
It was a striking about face for Musk, who spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars backing Trump and other Republican candidates in the past year. Now he's threatening to put his money behind voting out anyone who supports the party's signature legislation. 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' Musk posted.
While Trump and Musk previously exchanged public praise—Trump held a send-off ceremony for Musk in the Oval Office just days ago—the President now dismisses Musk's criticisms as self-serving.
'He knew every aspect of this bill,' Trump said. 'He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left.'
Trump accused Musk of being upset over the removal of electric vehicle subsidies, a key provision that had made Tesla vehicles more affordable. 'He only developed the problem when he found out that we're gonna have to cut the EV mandate,' Trump said. 'I know that disturbed him.'
Trump also suggested that his break with Musk came after he withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman—a Musk ally and veteran private astronaut with ties to his SpaceX company—to lead NASA. The move reportedly stunned Musk, who had spent heavily to support Trump's re-election, only to see a key ally cast aside. Trump, in turn, criticized Musk's push for Isaacman, saying the nominee was 'totally Democrat,' and suggesting he didn't owe Musk political favors.
'Elon recommended somebody to run NASA and I didn't think it was appropriate,' Trump said Thursday. 'We won, we get privileges, and one of the privileges is we don't have to appoint a Democrat.'
Musk worked to refute Trump's allegations on X, asserting that "this bill was never shown to me even once," and that he was fine if "the EV/solar incentive cuts" remained in the bill. The issue, Musk insisted, was "the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill."
The President's tone on Thursday was notably subdued, a contrast to the bravado he often reserves for critics. He suggested Musk may be struggling with what he called 'Trump Derangement Syndrome,' a phrase he uses for former allies who grow critical after leaving his administration.
'He's not the first,' Trump said. 'People leave my administration, and they love us, and then at some point they miss it so badly… they wake up in the morning, and the glamor is gone, and they become hostile.'
Trump suggested Musk's tone would soon mirror many of his other critics. 'He hasn't said [anything] bad about me personally, but I'm sure that'll be next,' he said.
Soon after, in response to footage of Trump's remarks, Musk posted: Without me, Trump would have lost the election." He added in a separate post: "Such ingratitude."
The timing of the split is politically delicate. Trump is pushing to have sweeping legislation on his desk by July 4, but it faces opposition from Democrats, and some fiscally conservative Republicans alarmed by its impact on the deficit.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, one of the Republicans threatening to vote against the bill, told TIME on Wednesday that he thinks Musk's criticism will embolden some Republican skeptics in both the House and Senate.
Last week, Musk said that he hoped to continue to be a 'friend and adviser to the President' after leaving the Administration.
Write to Nik Popli at [e-mail].