The alliance between President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk dramatically fractured Thursday over the president’s major tax bill, which is pending in the Senate.
Trump called Musk “crazy,” and threatened to cut off government contracts with the mega-billionaire’s companies, which in addition to Tesla include the space exploration company SpaceX and the artificial intelligence company xAI.
Tesla’s stock price plunged after Trump’s comments and Musk said SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft “immediately” because of Trump’s threats.
Trump said that Musk — who until recently was one of his top advisors — opposes the budget package because he is “upset” about the elimination of electric vehicle credits in the bill and about the Republican president nixing his pick to run NASA.
“I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot,” Trump told reporters at the White House, where less than a week ago he lauded Musk’s work on the DOGE project to cut federal spending and employee head count.
“Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump said.
Musk quickly and dismissively fired back at Trump in a post on his social media site X.
“Whatever,” wrote Musk, who has criticized the bill because it will increase federal deficits.
“Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill. In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful.”
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” Musk tweeted soon after.
“Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” added Musk, who was the biggest financial backer of Trump’s 2024 campaign, spending more than $250 million on that effort.
“Such ingratitude,” he wrote.
Musk launched a poll on X, asking users, “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?”
Tesla shares slid by more than 8% as the feud erupted between the EV-maker’s CEO and the Republican president.
Trump’s analysis of Musk’s motivation came after days of the billionaire condemning what Trump calls his “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” over concerns it will blow out federal deficits.
Musk on Tuesday called the bill a “disgusting abomination.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, right, joins former U.S. president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the site of the first assassination attempt against Trump, in Butler, Pennsylvania, Oct. 5, 2024.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images
On Saturday, less than two days after praising Musk at an Oval Office event, the president said he was withdrawing the nomination of Musk’s preferred pick, tech billionaire Jared Issacman, to run the space agency NASA.
“You know, I’ve always liked Elon,” said Trump on Thursday. “I’d rather have him criticize me than the bill, because the bill is incredible.”
“Elon is upset because we took the EV mandate, and you know, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles,” Trump said. “And you know, they’re having a hard time, the electric vehicles, and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy.”
“Elon knew this from the beginning,” Trump said, referring to the elimination of the tax credits in the bill for electric vehicles. “He knew it … a long time ago.”
“I’m very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people. He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it,” Trump said.
“All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate, because that’s billions and billions of dollars, and it really is unfair,” Trump said.
The president also said, referring to Isaacman, “I’m sure [Musk] respected him, but to run NASA … I didn’t think it was appropriate.”
“You happen to be a Democrat, like totally Democrat,” Trump said of Isaacman. “And I say, you know, look, we won. We get certain privileges. And one of the privileges we don’t have to appoint a Democrat. NASA is very important.”
Trump suggested Musk’s pivot to becoming a critic is part of a pattern he has seen with others who previously served his administration.
“People leave my administration, and they love us. And then at some point they miss it so badly, and some of them embrace it, and some of them actually become hostile. I don’t know what it is,” Trump said.
“It’s sort of Trump derangement syndrome, I guess they call it,” Trump said. “But we have it with others too. They leave, and they wake up in the morning, and the glamor is gone, the whole world is different, and they become hostile. I don’t know what it is.”
