Elon Musk and Donald Trump just publicly blew up their shaky friendship in a messy way. It all kicked off when Musk mocked Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein and said Trump should be impeached.
Trump fired back, threatening to pull federal contracts and tax breaks from Musk’s companies. Things have spiraled fast, with both throwing personal jabs and airing out some heavy stuff.
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Musk says Trump is hiding something
Musk didn’t hold back. He claimed the real reason Epstein’s files never came out during Trump’s time in office is because Trump himself is in them.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” Musk wrote on X, right after Trump talked about cutting subsidies to save “billions.”
He straight up calls for impeachment
Right after that, Musk backed a post that called for Trump to be removed. He also warned that Trump’s tariffs could drag the country into a recession.
Trump threatens to hit Musk where it hurts
Trump didn’t waste time firing back. He said Musk only started complaining about the spending bill because it didn’t benefit Tesla.
He even blocked the nomination of Musk’s pick to head NASA. “I’m very disappointed with Elon,” Trump said.
“He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out we’re going to cut the EV mandate.”
Trump makes it personal in front of reporters
During a meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump brought up Musk’s recent black eye and couldn’t resist poking fun.
“You saw a man who was very happy when he stood behind the Oval desk. Even with a black eye. I said, do you want a little makeup? He said, no, I don’t think so. Which is interesting,” Trump said.
“Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more.”
Musk reminds Trump who helped him win
Not long after, Musk claimed credit for getting Trump elected.
“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 on X. “Such ingratitude.”
Trump tries to flip the story
Trump fired back on Truth Social, claiming he actually fired Musk from an advisory role because he was “wearing thin.”
Musk wasn’t having it. He shot back, “Such an obvious lie. So sad.”
The Epstein claim blows up the feud
Then came the Epstein tweet, a not-so-subtle jab meant to turn Trump’s own base against him.
Musk basically accused Trump of being tied to Epstein’s abuse ring, using the kind of messaging that usually riles up the MAGA crowd.
Musk’s own Epstein photo comes back around
But Musk isn’t exactly in the clear either. In 2014, he was photographed at a party with Epstein’s ex Ghislaine Maxwell who was later convicted of helping traffic girls for him.
Stocks take a hit and others chime in
Once Trump started hitting back, Tesla’s stock dropped nearly 15 percent. SpaceX isn’t on the market, but its rivals saw a jump.
Even Ashley St Clair, a right-wing writer who had a child with Musk and sued him for child support, jumped into the drama. “Let me know if u need any breakup advice,” she posted on X, tagging Trump.
The whole thing was built on convenience
This isn’t just a friendship gone bad. It was clearly a bit transactional.
Despite the White House insisting it was about shared values, the Musk-Trump alliance mostly worked because it was useful for both.
Musk even poured hundreds of millions into Trump’s re-election through his own PAC, which helped with ground game efforts, though it’s not clear how much impact that actually had.
