Trump, Musk feud explodes with contract cutting threats

President Donald Trump threatened to cut off government contracts with billionaire Elon Musk's companies, while Mr Musk suggested Mr Trump should be impeached, turning their friendship into an all-out brawl on social media.

The hostilities began when Mr Trump criticised Tesla CEO Mr Musk in in the Oval Office. Within hours, the once-close relationship had disintegrated in full public view, as the world's most powerful man and its richest launched personal barbs at one another on Mr Trump's Truth Social and Mr Musk's X.

"The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," Mr Trump posted on Truth Social.

Wall Street traders dumped shares of Mr Musk's electric vehicle maker and Tesla closed down 14.3%, losing about $150 billion (€131.1 billion) in market value. It was Tesla's largest single-day decline in value in its history.

Minutes after the closing bell, Mr Musk replied, "Yes," to a post on X saying Mr Trump should be impeached. Mr Trump's Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress and are highly unlikely to impeach him.

The trouble between the two started brewing days ago, when Mr Musk denounced Mr Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill. The president initially held his tongue while Mr Musk campaigned to torpedo the bill, saying it would add too much to the nation's $36.2 trillion in debt.

Mr Trump broke his silence yesterday, telling reporters in the Oval Office he was "very disappointed" in Mr Musk.

"Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," Mr Trump said.

While Mr Trump spoke, Mr Musk responded with increasingly acerbic posts on X.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election," wrote Mr Musk, who spent nearly $300 million backing President Trump and other Republicans in last year's election. "Such ingratitude."

In another post, Mr Musk asserted that Mr Trump's signature tariffs would push the US into a recession later this year.

Besides Tesla, Mr Musk's businesses include rocket company and government contractor SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink.

Mr Musk, whose space business plays a critical role in the US government's space programme, said that as a result of Mr Trump's threats he would begin decommissioning SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft.

Dragon is the only US spacecraft currently capable of sending astronauts to the International Space Station.

Hours later, Mr Musk appeared to reverse that move. Responding to a follower on X urging Mr Musk and Mr Trump to "cool off and take a step back for a couple of days," Mr Musk wrote: "Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon."

In another possible sign of de-escalation yesterday evening, Mr Musk separately posted, "You're not wrong," in response to hedge fund manager Bill Ackman saying President Trump and Mr Musk should make peace.

Pugilistic pair

The feud was not entirely unexpected. Mr Trump and Mr Musk are both political pugilists with a penchant for using social media to punch back against their perceived enemies, and many observers had predicted an eventual falling out.

Even before Mr Musk's departure from the administration last week, his influence had waned following a series of clashes with cabinet members over his cuts to their agencies.

For President Trump, the fight was the first major rift he has had with a top advisor since taking office for a second time, after his first term was marked by numerous blow-ups.

Mr Trump parted ways with multiple chiefs of staff, national security advisors and political strategists during his 2017-2021 White House tenure. A few, like Steve Bannon, remained in his good graces, while many others, like UN Ambassador John Bolton, became loud and vocal critics.

After serving as the biggest Republican donor in the 2024 campaign season, Mr Musk became one of Mr Trump's most visible advisors as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, which mounted a sweeping and controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.

Mr Musk was frequently present at the White House and made multiple appearances on Capitol Hill, sometimes carrying his young son.

Only six days before yesterday's blow-up, Mr Trump and Mr Musk held an appearance in the Oval Office where Mr Trump praised Mr Musk's government service and both men promised to continue working together.

A prolonged feud between Mr Trump and Mr Musk could make it more difficult for Republicans to keep control of Congress in next year's midterm elections.

In addition to his campaign spending, Mr Musk has a huge online following and helped connect Mr Trump to parts of Silicon Valley and wealthy donors.

Mr Musk had already said he planned to curtail his political spending in the future.

Soon after Mr Trump's Oval Office comments, Mr Musk polled his 220 million followers on X: "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?"

'Big beautiful bill'

Mr Musk targeted what Mr Trump has named his "big, beautiful bill" this week, calling it a "disgusting abomination" that would deepen the federal deficit.

His attacks amplified a rift within the Republican Party that could threaten the bill's prospects in the Senate.

Nonpartisan analysts say Mr Trump's bill could add $2.4 trillion to $5 trillion to the nation's $36.2 trillion in debt.

Mr Trump asserted that Mr Musk's true objection was the bill's elimination of consumer tax credits for electric vehicles. The president also suggested that Mr Musk was upset because he missed working for the White House.

"He's not the first," Mr Trump said, "people leave my administration... then at some point they miss it so badly, and some of them embrace it and some of them actually become hostile."

Mr Musk wrote on X, "KILL the BILL," adding he was fine with Mr Trump's planned cuts to EV credits as long as Republicans rid the bill of wasteful spending.

He also pulled up past quotes from Mr Trump decrying the level of federal spending, adding, "Where is this guy today?"

Mr Musk came into government with brash plans to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. He left last week having cut only about half of 1% of total spending while causing disruption across multiple agencies.

Mr Musk's increasing focus on politics provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites in the US and Europe, driving down sales while investors fretted that Mr Musk's attention was too divided.