Latest news with #MuskTrump
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How the Musk-Trump feud became an online battle like no other
What happens when the world's most powerful man and the world's richest man - both accomplished attention-seekers - clash on the internet? We're finding out in real time. This week, billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump took to their respective social platforms to sling mud at the other after a fallout over federal spending. What started as a volley of barbs snowballed into a feud involving multiple social platforms and millions of onlookers, as everyone from big-name politicians to no-name meme accounts hurried to offer their takes and declare their allegiances. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. The split could have profound real-world consequences, as both men show their willingness to leverage financial and political power to hit back at the other. It also illustrates how quickly a conflict can escalate when it is fanned by algorithmic feeds and the demands of the attention economy, which prizes outrage and relishes a high-profile feud. While Trump and Musk circle their wagons, drumming up support and smearing the other through posts on X and Truth Social, millions of smaller content creators stand to capitalize on the attention the feud generates. On Thursday afternoon, the number of active users on the X and Truth Social mobile apps both reached 90-day highs, according to preliminary estimates by Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm. Between 2 and 6 p.m. Eastern time that day, the firm estimates that X usage was up 54 percent compared with the previous seven days, while Truth Social was up more than 400 percent, albeit from a much lower baseline. 'Public feuds like this drive social media engagement like crazy,' said Casey Fiesler, a professor of information science at the University of Colorado at Boulder who studies social media ethics. 'It's high-octane content because it's easy to meme and very algorithmically rewarded.' Musk, whose business empire includes X as well as Tesla, rocket company SpaceX and artificial intelligence start-up xAI, kicked off the fight on Tuesday when he posted on X to criticize a congressional spending bill backed by the president: 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,' he wrote. The post was viewed more than 141 million times and sparked a flurry of commentary on X and elsewhere online. Gen Z internet personality Lil Tay, known for over-the-top posts flaunting luxury goods, got 2.8 million views on a reply clapping back at Musk for his former support of Trump, while far-right commentator Charlie Kirk referenced Musk's 'tweet heard around the world' in a post funneling viewers to Apple Podcasts to stream his talk show. Over the next two days, Musk continued to take shots at Trump on X, at one point posting a poll asking whether America needed a new centrist political party, while Trump told White House reporters that his and Musk's relationship was on the rocks. Then on Thursday, Musk escalated the back-and-forth by claiming in a post on X that Trump is implicated in the Epstein files, documents that allegedly contain the names of people who consorted with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually assault minors. The post exploded, drawing almost 200 million views in a day and stoking a second wave of content from politicians, creators and meme-makers. A post from an anonymous X user, liked by 192,300 people, mused: 'Who gets JD Vance in the divorce?' The vice president soon provided an answer, posting that Trump has 'earned the trust of the movement he leads.' On X, where Musk's changes to the platform's verification feature have blurred the lines between real public figures and paid subscribers, fake politicians joined the fray. 'Every time I smell a movement, I know you'll be next to it,' came a reply to Vance from an account for Rep. Jack Kimble - a fictitious congressman with more than 93,000 followers whose posts have often fooled social media users. Former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon seized the moment to make headlines with his podcast, in which he called for Trump to seize SpaceX and perhaps even deport Musk. Politics creators such as Philip DeFranco took to TikTok with beat-by-beat breakdowns of the feud, while Musk's estranged daughter Vivian Wilson posted to her Instagram stories a clip of herself laughing, with the caption, 'I love being proven right,' possibly in reference to past comments criticizing her father and Trump. In the Reddit community r/politics, self-styled sleuths conducted deep dives into Epstein-related court filings, at times linking to books and YouTube series that claim to investigate Epstein's celebrity accomplices. Far-fetched conspiracy theories floated around X as users speculated whether Trump and Musk could be secretly working together toward some noble end. Critics of Musk and Trump delighted in the affair. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), who at 35 is a social media star in her own right, was stopped by a reporter outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday and asked for her reaction to Trump and Musk's war of words. She was quick to spit an online catchphrase: 'Oh man, the girls are fighting, aren't they?' The clip spread quickly on TikTok, where it was boosted by left-leaning talking heads and news accounts. Academic research on online algorithms has shown that social feeds often prioritize content that elicits fear or rage. High-profile fights can boost the power and profiles of people involved, as with the infamous internet feuds between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West or influencers Trisha Paytas and Ethan Klein, said Fiesler. But trending conflicts are also a boon to the second-order creators, who jump to offer 'side takes,' playing off the argument of the day to drive traffic to their own products and profiles. A divisive court battle between actress Amber Heard and her ex-husband Johnny Depp, for instance, spawned its own media ecosystem, with creators and channels dedicated entirely to dissecting the feud - at times even falsifying or exaggerating information to keep viewers hooked. 'This [Musk-Trump feud] is half my TikTok feed right now,' Fiesler said. 'The more that people talk about it, the more people feel obligated to talk about it and take sides.' It's a dynamic the principals in this fight have long since mastered. Vance posted on X on Thursday a picture of himself with the popular podcaster and comedian Theo Von, with the tongue-in-cheek caption, 'Slow news day, what are we even going to talk about?' Musk reposted it, adding a 'laughter' emoji. Under Musk's ownership, X has lost advertisers and users turned off by his politics and lax approach to hate speech, with rivals such as Bluesky and Meta's Threads siphoning left-leaning users in particular. Now he risks alienating Trump loyalists. But in the meantime, even critics of his leadership of X acknowledged Thursday that it seemed to have 'the juice' - that is, it was driving the conversation - at least for the moment. 'A public blowup between the world's richest man and the president of the U.S. is hard for people to resist witnessing first-hand, even for those that may not regularly use X,' said Jasmine Enberg, vice president and principal analyst at eMarketer, a market research firm. 'That said, our media usage is so fragmented and we're being bombarded with the news from every channel that it's not likely to be significant or sustainable.' Truth Social, meanwhile, has become an increasingly important component of Trump's communication strategy, with the self-styled influencer-in-chief firing off a steady stream of posts - at times dozens a day - lauding his own actions or taking aim at rivals. White House employees and right-leaning creators then spread the posts to other platforms, broadening Truth Social's reach and influence even as the platform underperforms compared with X, Threads or Bluesky. (Sensor Tower estimates X has about 100 times more active users.) The Trump-Musk brouhaha exemplifies how online influencer culture has permeated politics, said Renée DiResta, a professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy and the author of 'Invisible Rulers.' 'Online beefing is not about winning - it's a kind of performance,' she said. The interactive nature of social media allows the audience to get in on the action. 'We pick sides, cheer for our champion and keep the fight going. We make memes - we can grab some attention for ourselves and help shape the fight if we make good ones.' But what might be harmless fun in the case of celebrity gossip, she said, has a darker side when the warring parties are among the world's most powerful people. In a striking example, a threat from Trump on Thursday to cancel government contracts with SpaceX prompted Musk to reply that the company 'will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately' - a move that would have severed NASA's only means of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. A pseudonymous X user who had fewer than 100 followers at the time replied to Musk's post, urging him to 'take a step back' and reconsider. Within hours, Musk responded: 'Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.' The online bedlam prompted sports commentator Darren Rovell to revisit a tweet he posted in 2016 that has since become a meme: 'I feel bad for our country. But this is tremendous content.' Related Content To save rhinos, conservationists are removing their horns Donald Trump and the art of the Oval Office confrontation Some advice from LGBTQ elders as WorldPride kicks off amid fears
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Veteran fund manager resets stock market forecast amid Musk, Trump fallout
Veteran fund manager resets stock market forecast amid Musk, Trump fallout originally appeared on TheStreet. Put two mercurial personalities in the room, add competing goals and a hefty dose of media pressure, and what do you get? Let's just say that the high-profile friend-to-foe saga isn't overly surprising. Elon Musk and Donald Trump are polarizing figures with a penchant for dropping verbal bombshells, and that was particularly evident this week as the two sparred over the Big Beautiful bill, electric vehicle credits, and debt. The rift may shock some, however, given how closely Musk and Trump worked together over the past year. 💵💰Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter 💰💵 Musk spent hundreds of millions helping elect Donald Trump as president, and Trump rewarded Musk with a high-profile role in his administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Trump even went so far as to host a Tesla showroom on the White House lawn to support Musk after Musk's political activism caused a drop in Tesla's sales. One person who wasn't the least bit surprised by the high-profile dust-up was veteran hedge fund manager Doug Kass. Back in December, Kass picked the break-up as one of his top 15 surprises for 2025. It was far from the only correct forecast for Kass. He also predicted a stock market reckoning could cause the S&P 500 to fall 15%, and in April, he accurately forecast that stocks would find their footing after the brutal sell-off. Kass recently revisited his take on Musk and Trump, and how stocks may react to their fallout. His S&P 500 outlook may disappoint many, while his take on Trump and Musk might surprise most. After back-to-back 20% gains in the S&P 500 in 2023 and 2024, including an impressive 24% return last year, investors may have complacently expected more good times in 2025. Then reality set in. The stock market has whipsawed amid a series of shocks, many delivered by President Trump and Elon Musk, via his high-profile and much-debated cost-cutting at came into 2025 arguably priced to perfection. Optimism for a friendly Federal Reserve shift in monetary policy to dovish interest rate cuts and a flood of artificial intelligence spending fueled big returns last year, pushing the S&P 500's price-to-earnings ratio north of 22. Historically, returns following high P/E ratios have been largely lackluster. That point wasn't lost on Kass, who correctly said in December that the S&P 500 could drop 15% in 2025. "Surprise #9: In 2025, the S&P Index falls by about 15%. The technology-laden Nasdaq drops by over 20%," wrote Kass. Kass beat the bearish drum continuously through February, when the S&P 500 reversed after hitting all-time highs. From mid-February through early April, bombshells in the form of shockingly high tariff announcements from President Trump and job losses stemming from Musk's DOGE efforts caused the benchmark index to plummet. At its worst, the S&P 500 fell 19%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell about 24%. The sharp drop was painful, and many hit the sell button, worried that an endless stream of uncertainty would cause even greater losses. Kass, however, correctly reversed course, making bargain-basement buys on the indexes and tech leaders, including Amazon, near the lows. Since then, Trump's pause on tariffs and potential for trade deals that ease the tariffs' bite have helped fuel a dramatic recovery, lifting the S&P 500 by 20%. More Economic Analysis: Hedge-fund manager sees U.S. becoming Greece A critical industry is slamming the economy Reports may show whether the economy is toughing out the tariffs The result has been a nausea-inspiring roller coaster ride for buy-and-hold investors. That's been particularly true for Tesla () shareholders. The EV company rallied after Trump's election amid hope that Musk's White House connections would pave the way to sales growth. Instead, Musk's DOGE efforts, and arguably controversial political comments, caused a mass exodus of left-leaning Tesla buyers. Sales cratered in key markets, including Europe and California, the largest U.S. auto market. In Europe, Tesla sales dropped 49% year-over-year in April to 7,261 vehicles, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. In California, Tesla registrations fell 21.5% year-over-year in the first quarter, while non-Tesla electric vehicle (EV) registrations grew 14%. Tesla's stock price got hammered as a result, falling 54% from mid-December highs to early April lows. It's since recovered alongside the broad market, jumping 35%, largely on news Elon Musk would step away from DOGE. Doug Kass has seen a thing or two. His career stretches back into the 1970s at money manager Putnam, including a stint as research director for billionaire Leon Cooperman's Omega Advisors. His deep experience navigating markets professionally means he had a front-row seat to his share of political, economic, and stock market surprises. He witnessed Richard Nixon's Watergate implosion, the inflation-riddled 70s, the Savings & Loan crisis, the Internet boom and bust, hanging chads, the housing-bubble-driven Great Financial Recession, Trump presidency version 1.0, Covid, and the recent inflation shock and December, he tests that experience with his "surprises" list for the coming year. This year, in addition to predicting the S&P 500 sell-off, he forecast the unfriendly end of the Trump-Musk relationship. "Surprise #2: The 'other' romance, between Trump/Musk, doesn't make it past spring 2025," wrote Kass. "National protests and demonstrations emerge and demands from a wide array of members of both the Republican and Democratic parties (including conservatives and liberals) call for 'ousting' Elon Musk, an unelected official, from playing such a dominant role in the U.S. government." Kass's Musk prediction is a longer read, but the gist is simple: Musk and Trump will suffer a fallout, which may have consequences for investors. He revisited his outlook, offering a new take on the Trump-Musk situation. "Right in front of us, it is obvious that political positions of influence can easily be bought-sold by both parties (and that certainly includes the presidency)," wrote Kass. "I am not even sure where the performance ends and reality begins. In the end (probably sooner than later) — just like the president's opening salvos of ridiculously high tariff proposals — the two actors will likely have a detente (and kiss and make up) because the downside is certain for both of them, as no one will win. When that make-up happens, no one knows. It could happen today, next week or next month, but the parties' 'interests' are now so enmeshed that Musk and Trump recognize where their bread is buttered." A potential "easing" of tensions would be welcome, given that a long-term tit-for-tat would fuel market volatility. Still, Kass's view of what happens to the stock market next isn't encouraging. "Never in my investing career has there been so many possible social, political, geopolitical, economic, interest rates and fiscal policy outcomes (many of which are adverse). That is why I don't understand the uber confidence expressed by the Perma Bull cabal (led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee) and manifested in a near-vertical move higher for equities over the last two months," continued Kass. "With a forward PE of 22x, equities remain overvalued and, after covering my Index shorts yesterday, I plan to reshort any rally." If Kass is correct that instability will force stocks lower, how low could it go, and when might things improve? "I see seven lean months ahead for our markets. We estimate downside risk to be roughly 3x the upside reward," concludes fund manager resets stock market forecast amid Musk, Trump fallout first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 7, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Kash Patel has live ‘WTF' moment on Joe Rogan as he learns of Trump vs. Musk mid-interview
FBI Director Kash Patel first learned that the world's richest man had just accused his boss of being in the so-called 'Epstein Files' while taping an episode of Joe Rogan's podcast on Thursday. Patel, who has come under fire from MAGA supporters in recent weeks for backing away from conspiracy theories about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein now that he leads the FBI, appeared taken aback by Elon Musk's wild tweets about Donald Trump's lengthy past relationship with Epstein. 'That's way outside my lane,' Patel demurred while Rogan wondered 'what the f*ck' was going on between the president and his former 'first buddy.' With the bromance between the president and Musk – who funded Trump's campaign to the tune of a quarter-billion dollars and spearheaded DOGE's government-dismantling mission – blowing up in spectacular fashion on Thursday afternoon, Rogan interrupted his interview with Patel to break the news to the FBI chief. Roughly an hour into The Joe Rogan Experience taping on Thursday, Musk took issue with the president saying he was 'disappointed' about the Tesla CEO's ongoing criticisms about the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' that Republicans are trying to pass. Following Musk's exit from the administration last week as a 'special government employee,' the tech mogul had grown increasingly outspoken against the president's signature legislation, claiming it would 'bankrupt' the country. 'Time to drop the really big bomb,' Musk tweeted on Thursday afternoon. '@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' He followed up that tweet by adding: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' Moments before Musk dropped his bombshell post, Patel had spent a significant portion of his Rogan interview attempting to convince the conspiracy-peddling podcast host that Epstein did indeed commit suicide. Patel and his deputy director Dan Bongino – both of whom had previously supported the theory that Epstein was murdered in jail – have taken heavy criticismfrom right-wing influencers for now insisting that all evidence suggests Epstein killed himself. While Rogan began wondering if Patel and the FBI had footage of Epstein's island residence, the show's producer jumped in to let them both know that Musk had just flung out his allegation about Trump. 'Jesus Christ,' Rogan gasped in shock. 'I'm not participating in any of that conversation between Elon and Trump,' Patel muttered. Reading from the tweets, Rogan then said 'someone should take his phone away' and that it was 'crazy' for Musk to accuse the president of being on the supposed client list of the deceased sex offender. 'How does he know? Does he know that Donald Trump's in the Epstein files? Does he have access to the Epstein files?' Rogan then asked Patel directly. 'I don't know how he would, but I'm just staying out of the Trump-Elon thing,' the FBI director shot back. 'That's way outside my lane.' As a shocked Rogan wondered 'what the f*ck are they doing,' Patel reiterated that he know his 'lane and this ain't it.' Rogan, meanwhile, expressed concern over the amount of time that Musk spends posting to the social media platform he owns. 'I understand he owns Twitter, I think it's bad for your mental health,' the podcaster concluded. 'I think posting things publicly all day and arguing with people all day is bad for you.' Beginning in the 1980s, Epstein and Trump began hanging out in the same social circles and soon became friends, partying and dining together at their palatial estates. They posed together for photographs and were 'each other's wingmen' at one point in time. 'He's a lot of fun to be with,' Trump said about Epstein in a 2002 interview. 'It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. The pair would have a falling out in 2004. According to one Trump aide, Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after he asked a young female worker for a massage. Following Epstein's 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges, Trump said he was 'not a fan of his' while one of the president's lawyers insisted they had 'no relationship.'
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
In a dangerous world, the explosive Trump-Musk bust-up is more terrifying than titillating
Elon Musk posted in February that he loved his president, patron and personal friend, "as much as a straight man can love another man." And they had so much in common: colossal egos; mercurial political views; compulsive social media habits. Yet, it was clear to almost all but the most hopeless MAGA romantics that this rocket-fuelled megastar bromance was doomed to fail. But who would have predicted an end this spectacular - their relationship undergoing a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" to rival the most explosive of Mr Musk 's test rockets. 4:02 Their hysterical tit-for-tat on social media might be the stuff of Hollywood tabloids, but its consequences could be grave. The break-up has already had a major impact on Mr Musk's wealth, with Tesla shares sliding 15% on the news. But Mr Musk's social media platform and $250m of political donations played no small part in getting Mr Trump and his supporters into the White House. If that money and influence were to turn against them, it could see them out. And in terms of strategic significance, Elon Musk's SpaceX is no ordinary company. In 2024, it averaged a rocket launch every three days, accounting for nearly 90% of the US orbital launch market and took more cargo into space last year than the rest of the world combined. Elon Musk already appears to have backed down on his threat to decommission the SpaceX Crew Dragon that ferries astronauts to the International Space Station. Doing so would have risked the lives of the crew on board, leaving the US and its international partners reliant on Russian hardware to take them in and out of orbit. 1:48 Nor is it likely Mr Trump would, or even could, take down a company as necessary to US interests as SpaceX. Although the souring of relations will be good news for his up-and-coming rivals like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin launch company. SpaceX is heavily reliant on government contracts from NASA and the US military. But it could be years before a competitor can rival its near-monopoly on space launches. The two men could, of course, patch things up. It wouldn't be the first time either has said outrageous things on social media that they later shrugged off. But in one way, the damage has already been done. The world has witnessed two of its most powerful people row like teenagers with no evidence of the wisdom, restraint or cool-headedness most would expect of reliable businessmen and heads of state.
National Post
2 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Is Trump in the Epstein files? Does Musk have TDS? How a bromance was shattered
Elon Musk and Donald Trump had been inseparable for some time now. Article content Musk publicly endorsed Trump's presidency in a tweet less than an hour after the failed assassination attempt on the president's life. Their relationship began with mutual respect and compliments. Musk praised Trump's 'instinctual courage' in jumping up quickly after being grazed by a bullet and yelling 'fight, fight,' and Trump told rally attendees in Grand Rapids, Michigan: 'We have to make life good for our smart people and (Elon's) as smart as you get.' Musk engineered America PAC, a $1 million dollar daily giveaway aimed at getting voters in swing states to support Trump. In all, Musk donated around US$ 280 million to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. After the election, Musk was put in charge of managing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk visited the White House, often with his children. There were even sleepovers! Article content Article content Article content Alas, it now appears the honeymoon is over. And it just might be the most public break-up in history. Article content Article content The trouble appears to have began when Musk criticized Trump's massive tax cut and spending legislation, known as the ' One Big Beautiful Bill ' on Tuesday, posting on X, '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.' The legislation is expected to add as much as $2.7 trillion in deficits over the next decade. Article content A pointed critique like that, coming from Musk, who had just finished his term last week as position as Special Government Employee leading DOGE in an effort to reduce government spending and increase efficiency, would've burned any president. Article content But Trump isn't just any president. Predictably, he took the comments very personally. Article content When asked about Elon's critique during a news conference at the White House Thursday, he made his hurt feelings known: 'Well, look, you know, I've always liked Elon and I was very surprised, you saw the words he had for me, the words… and he hasn't said anything about me that's bad, I'd rather have him criticize me than the bill.' Article content Article content 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore.' Article content Article content Trump then went into full attack mode, telling reporters that, 'Elon knew the inner workings of this bill, better than almost anybody sitting here,' and suggested that Musk, who is CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla, only had a problem with the bill when he found out that Trump would be cutting EV tax credits. Article content The feud then spilled out of the news conference onto their own respective social media platforms — Musk's X (formerly Twitter) and Trump's Truth Social resulting in a cross-platform flamewar. Article content It began with a quick succession of tweets from Musk on X. Article content Musk responded to Trump: 'Whatever. Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill. In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this! Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.'
