Trump says Musk has 'lost his mind' as he considers ditching his Tesla amid public bust-up

DONALD TRUMP HAS declared that Elon Musk has “lost his mind” amid a spiralling public bust-up that has seen government contracts threatened, conspiracy theories hurled, and even a potential presidential Tesla sale in the works.

In a phone interview with ABC News, the US President brushed off suggestions of a reconciliation call with the Tesla and SpaceX boss.

“You mean the man who has lost his mind?” Trump quipped.

A White House official later confirmed that no such call is planned, and that Trump is not interested in speaking to his former ally.

According to numerous reports, the US President is now considering selling his Tesla – a car he once praised as Musk’s “baby” – in a very public break from the tech billionaire.

Trump and Musk had posed inside the car at a bizarre event in March, when the president turned the White House into a pop-up Tesla showroom after viral protests against Musk’s role as head of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

‘Big ugly spending bill’

The once-close relationship between the pair imploded this week, just days after Musk exited his position as head of the DOGE.

What followed was a dramatic volley of posts and counterclaims across social media platforms.

Musk slammed Trump’s flagship “One Big Beautiful Bill” (a major tax and spending package) as a “big ugly spending bill” that gutted electric vehicle subsidies.

The bill, passed by House Republicans in May, removed key EV incentives Musk’s companies rely on.

Trump responded by claiming he personally asked Musk to step down from his government role, saying he had been “wearing thin.”

Advertisement

Musk denied that and escalated further, alleging that Trump “is in the Epstein files,” a claim swiftly dismissed by the White House as “baseless.”

The Tesla CEO is also now backing calls for the US president to be impeached.

The White House said Musk’s outrage was nothing more than an “unfortunate episode” sparked by his disappointment over the EV subsidy cuts.

Trump, speaking to reporters, claimed Musk had known the bill’s contents “better than anybody,” and only objected when he saw how it would hit his bottom line.

Musk fired back: “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.”

Markets reacted swiftly – Tesla shares plunged 14.3% yesterday, wiping around $150 billion off the company’s value.

Musk also threatened to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, a vital link to the International Space Station, after Trump floated pulling federal contracts.

He later reversed course, posting: “Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.”

‘Expiration date’

For now, reconciliation looks unlikely. Trump has made clear he’s moving on, and Musk, once a key part of his policy team, appears ready to go to war.

Trade Advisor Peter Navarro, whom Musk once called “dumber than a sack of bricks” in an argument over Trump’s tariffs, refused to gloat but said the tycoon had an “expiration date.”

“No, I’m not glad or whatever,” he told reporters. “People come and go from the White House.”

Vice President JD Vance also stuck by Trump amid the blazing row, blasting what he called “lies” that his boss was “impulsive or short-tempered”, but notably avoided criticising Musk.

Additional reporting from AFP

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More Support The Journal