WP: The epic breakup of Trump and Musk’s White House bromance

Trump and Musk at the White House.
Photo: Shutterstock

The alliance between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk spectacularly imploded Thursday as the world’s most prominent bromance collapsed into mutual public trolling, writes ‘The Washington Post’.

For months, as Musk emerged as the president’s constant companion and self-proclaimed “first buddy,” the question hovered of how long a duet could last between two men used to soloing on center stage. Thursday’s angry exchanges provided a definitive answer.

The breakup also highlighted the political and financial risks each man could face from a prolonged quarrel: Musk, who spent at least $288 million in 2024 to help elect Trump and other Republicans, accused the president of “such ingratitude” and publicly mused about starting a third party.

Trump responded by threatening Musk’s government contracts. The stock price of Tesla, the electric-vehicle company Musk owns, fell sharply, down 14 percent at the market close. The value of Trump’s meme coin also dropped.

The very public flameout was at once an irresistible spectacle and an action with potential consequences for the government that, for a time, Trump and Musk appeared to be running in tandem.

Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service project was already winding down, with many of his aides returning to their private businesses. Others, however, have remained prominently in government, and as perceived allies of Musk, they could face retaliation. Musk’s increasingly harsh criticisms of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill — the president’s main legislative priority — have already complicated the measure’s path in a closely divided Congress.

The public unraveling began in the Oval Office, where Trump spoke to reporters at the start of a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“Elon and I had a great relationship,” he said. “I don’t know if we will anymore.”

The quarrel escalated rapidly from there, with the two men blasting out angry posts on their respective social media platforms.

By late afternoon, Musk was writing that he agreed Trump should be impeached and replaced with Vice President JD Vance. He also warned that Trump’s tariffs would cause a recession in the second half of the year and asked his 220 million followers whether it was time to “create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle.”

He further signaled his estrangement from Trump’s orbit by “unfollowing” Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s top aides, whose wife has been working for Musk.

Trump responded with posts on Truth Social, saying that “the easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it.”

Musk’s business empire is reliant on automotive regulatory credits, as well as space and defense contracts. His companies have received at least $38 billion in government money, according to a Washington Post analysis.

Musk volleyed back, declaring it was “time to drop the really big bomb” that Trump “is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day DJT!”

Files linked to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have emerged as a point of fixation for Trump, his allies and right-wing media figures. They have speculated without evidence that government officials have participated in a cover-up to protect famous associates of Epstein, who they assert may have participated in his crimes. Musk later posted video footage of Trump and Epstein partying together decades ago.

Musk endorsed Trump in the hours after the July 13 shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. And in the months that followed, he constantly appeared by Trump’s side, while quietly putting together a super PAC to funnel billions into the campaign with other Silicon Valley friends who had become Trump supporters.

Musk was a frequent presence at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort during the transition, and the two appeared to bask in each other’s company.

“I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man,” Musk posted in early February.

Even as Musk clashed with other top officials in the Trump administration, his relationship with the president appeared resilient despite his cost-cutting efforts falling far short of his goals and wide public disapproval of the billionaire’s role in the White House.

Just last week, the president presented Musk with a ceremonial key in the Oval Office and called him “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced.”

On Tuesday, however, Musk began publicly criticizing the One Big Beautiful Bill, the cornerstone of Trump’s legislative agenda. He urged lawmakers to “KILL the BILL” and repeatedly warned that the plan would add to the deficit.

The Congressional Budget Office projected Thursday that the overall price tag of the measure would be $3 trillion over the next decade, an estimate that the administration has disputed.

The unraveling “happened faster than I thought,” said one Musk ally, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive subject. “What Elon really wanted is to be president, I think.”

Several friends of Musk, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid getting dragged into a public fight, noted that the war of words taking place between the two men represented not just a personal falling out but also the public surfacing of a fight between the tech right and the populist MAGA movement, which share some goals but disagree deeply on several issues.

“It was a rejection by MAGA and Congress of technocratic reform and instead keeping basically status quo on everything of consequence,” one of the people said. The person acknowledged that Musk came to Washington with high hopes that he could orchestrate systematic change, but instead was stuck with high tariffs and a bill that would leave the country with spiraling debt.

Tesla investors braced themselves as they watched Musk’s relationship with the president go up in flames. “Can someone please take the phone away from him! wtf! tesla is getting destroyed,” investor Ross Gerber, a onetime Musk booster, posted.

“My god this is bad for tesla and Elon,” Gerber said in a text message. “Elon is mistaken to think he has anything like the power Trump has.”

Gerber warned that Trump could take Musk’s attacks as an opening to launch investigations into Musk’s companies and his immigration journey: He was born in South Africa, came to the U.S. as a graduate student in 1995 and started his first company before having legal permission to work in the United States.

“He’s destroying everything he’s built and all the people who’ve supported him along the way,” Gerber said.

On Capitol Hill, some Republicans seemed wary of picking sides. “I obviously support the president, and I obviously support Elon’s perspective on DOGE, and so it is what it is,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida), a close ally of the president.

Others were less restrained. “You’ve lost your damn mind,” Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-Texas) said about Musk. “I think Elon Musk is very gifted and talented. He’s very successful. I think he has a lot to offer our great country as it relates to space... but to start making statements like that I think are irresponsible and certainly not healthy. So stop.”

Vance also weighed in, expressing his support for the president in a post: “President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I’m proud to stand beside him.”

Trump suggested that Musk’s criticisms were rooted in his concerns about Tesla. The administration’s legislative package would slash subsidies for owners of electric vehicles, which have helped make Tesla’s cars — which can cost upward of $80,000 — more affordable for American consumers. Tesla is reeling from a 71 percent dip in profits and a double-digit slip in sales in the first quarter compared with the same time period last year.

“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 in response to a reporter’s question about Musk’s criticisms. “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.”

Trump says he’s ‘very disappointed’ with Musk.

Musk denied that in a post, saying he never saw the text of the bill.

In the Oval Office, Trump anticipated that Musk’s criticism would become personal, saying that he thinks Musk “misses the place.”

He suggested such hostility was common among officials who depart his administration.

“It’s sort of Trump Derangement Syndrome, I guess they call it,” he said.

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