WEBDESK: US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk started a public feud, Thursday, as the US president said he was “very disappointed” by Musk’s criticisms over the GOP spending bill.
“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. His comments came after Musk slammed his tax and spending mega-bill as an “abomination”.
The bill includes a range of government spending plans, but notably removes electric vehicle (EV) subsidies. Removing the subsidies directly affects Tesla, one of Musk’s companies.
The world’s richest man responded by live-posting on his X social media platform as Trump spoke on television, saying that the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without him and slamming him for “ingratitude.”
Visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sat mutely beside him, as 78-year-old Trump unloaded on Musk in his comments.
Musk shot back, alleging a link between the president and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and promoting a post that called for Trump’s impeachment.
“I’m very disappointed,” says Donald Trump
“I’m very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here … all of a sudden, he had a problem,” Trump said when asked about Musk.
The clash comes less than a week after the US president hosted a Oval office farewell for Elon Musk as he left DOGE.
Trump suggested that Musk, who called the GOP bill a “disgusting abomination” this week, was upset that the bill cut out a tax credit meant to incentivize electric vehicle purchases.
Elon Musk’s response
In response, Elon Musk didn’t hold back. On X (formerly Twitter), he accused Trump of being “ungrateful,” saying that his support was key to Trump’s 2024 win.
Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
Elon Musk claimed that he had no prior knowledge of the bill.
False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it! https://t.co/V4ztekqd4g
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
Tesla is the biggest electric vehicle maker in the United States. The company’s sales have suffered in recent months, reflecting increased global competition and backlash generated by Musk’s political activities.
Since leaving his White House role last week, Elon Musk has said he is back “24/7” at his companies, including Tesla and the major government contractor SpaceX.
Later, Musk uploaded a poll to his X account asking his followers whether or not it was time to start a new political party that “actually represents the 80 per cent in the middle”.
After his meeting, Trump took to his own platform, Truth Social, and wrote posts stating that he asked “crazy” Elon Musk to leave and that the his administration could save billions of dollars by cutting Musk’s government contracts.
“I took away his EV mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went crazy!” the US president wrote in one post, adding that he asked Musk to leave because he was “wearing thin”.
Through it all, the visiting German chancellor sat silently.
Merz had prepared to avoid a repeat of the ambushes that Trump unleashed on the Ukrainian and South African presidents in the Oval Office – but in the end it was Elon Musk that the US president ambushed.
