On June 5, Trump and former political ally and former head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, had a public falling out in which Musk claimed that Trump was in the Epstein files.
The roots of this direct confrontation emerged on June 3, in which Musk criticized Trump’s vaunted “big, beautiful bill.” Publicly, he slammed it for increasing the deficit. Though the bill is, in effect, a gift to billionaires, such as Musk, as well as to millionaires, it was inimical to Musk’s business interests.
The legislation cuts the electric vehicle tax credit that helps car makers like Musk’s Tesla. As of late April, his company had spent at least $240,000 lobbying on behalf of the credit and other company matters. Behind the scenes, sources say, Musk also advocated for the measure in the legislation, but to no avail.
Axios
To add insult to injury, Trump did not integrate Starlink into the national air traffic control. Trump ally Laura Loomer and the director of the Office of Presidential Personnel Sergio Gor also successfully prevented Jared Isaacman, a friend of Musk’s, from being the NASA administrator.
Tensions between the Trump administration and Musk existed even before Trump assumed power again. During the transition, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles politically and physically alienated Musk from Trump by placing him in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building rather than allowing him to operate out of the West Wing.
Despite the kinetic feud between Trump and Musk being less than a day old, it has already sharply escalated. Musk has suggested that Trump is featured in the Epstein files, and that the White House is covering up relevant information. He has threatened to create his own political party. Furthermore, Musk predicted that Trump’s tariffs will soon cause a recession.
Trump immediately and sharply fired back. He suggested that Elon should have turned against him “months ago.” Most devastatingly, he threatened to cancel all of the federal contracts that Musk’s companies enjoy. In an initial defeat for Musk, the billionaire has announced the decommissioning of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
Both DJT (which runs Truth Social) and Tesla have fallen in the stock market.
