What began as a powerhouse political partnership between the world’s richest man and the most powerful politician in America has spectacularly imploded.
It appears that the alliance between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk—once marked by backslaps, Cabinet meetings, and a golden key ceremony—has devolved into a full-blown public feud featuring social media mudslinging, contract threats, and sensational Epstein allegations.
Elon Musk and President Trump’s partnership, turned conscious uncoupling, has now entered its most combative phase. The pair spent Thursday trading insults and, at times, open threats, as tensions boiled over across press briefings and social media platforms.
“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Musk hit back instantly on X, accusing Trump of “ingratitude” for the support he provided during the 2024 election.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election. Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
Musk wrote referencing both his personal donations—reportedly in the hundreds of millions—and his control of X, which many believe shaped election discourse.
Trump, agitated by the barrage, took to Truth Social, escalating the feud by threatening to strip Musk’s companies of lucrative federal subsidies and contracts. “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump declared.
“Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave… and he just went CRAZY!”
Musk’s retaliation was swift and dramatic. “In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,” Musk posted, referencing the spacecraft that recently brought four astronauts back from the International Space Station.
But the tech mogul wasn’t done. “Time to drop the really big bomb,” Musk wrote to his 220 million followers. He then alleged—without presenting any evidence—that Donald Trump is named in the still-unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files.
“@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” Musk tweeted, later adding: “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
The explosive claim tapped into a persistent undercurrent of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s client list, though no credible evidence has emerged publicly linking Trump to undisclosed documents.
In the past year alone, Musk had advised Trump, travelled aboard Air Force One, attended Mar-a-Lago weekends, and even joined Cabinet meetings wearing a MAGA hat. But their bond appears to have frayed beyond repair.
A major tipping point came when Musk began railing against Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” branding it a “disgusting abomination” that would inflate the federal deficit. The criticism didn’t sit well with Trump, who sees the bill as central to his legacy.
The fallout could have serious implications. The U.S. Department of Transportation, which regulates Tesla’s operations, is already probing its “Full Self-Driving” software following a fatal crash. And any severing of government ties could stall Musk’s ambitions to launch mass-market robotaxis.
As the dust settles, the once-unstoppable Trump-Musk alliance stands as a cautionary tale of political proximity in the digital age—when tweets, not treaties, define loyalties, and one viral post can collapse billion-dollar friendships.
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