Musk goes nuts over Epstein files, slams Trump: 'They killed Peanut...Government is deeply broken'

The Elon Musk-Donald Trump feud has gotten murkier with the latest release of a cache of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender. The tech billionaire on X, slamming Trump, claimed that the US government was "deeply broken" and has "not even tried to file charges against anyone on the Epstein client list." His claim comes as reports suggest that Trump's Justice Department and the FBI have concluded that there was no evidence that sex offender Epstein blackmailed powerful figures, kept a "client list" or was murdered. The Tesla CEO also invoked the name "Peanut" and said "they arrested (and killed) Peanut". What did Musk mean? Who is this 'peanut'? Here's all you need to know.

What did Musk say?

Elon Musk posted a meme on his X account that says, "More squirrels and raccoons have been arrested than anyone on Epstein's client list". he posted this along with the caption, "They arrested (and killed) Peanut, but have not even tried to file charges against anyone on the Epstein client list," adding "Government is deeply broken".

In another post, the tech billionaire claimed that Steve Bannon, Trump's former aide and advisor, was in the notorious Epstein files. However, he did not offer any evidence to back his claim but, in yet another post, said, “How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?”.

Who is Peanut?

Elon Musk with his post has dragged "Peanut the Squirrel" into his bromance turned sour with Trump. Peanut was an internet-famous squirrel, and seems like Elon Musk is not over his death. The orphaned squirrel belonged to Mark Longo, who rescued him in 2017. Longo documented Peanut's and other rescue animals' lives on Instagram on an account which amassed close to a whopping one million followers.

However, in October 2024, Peanut was detained by authorities and was later euthanised by the State of New York. Despite dramatic uproar over Peanut's detention, the euthanisation was carried out, as owning a squirrel is illegal in New York. Soon after, Musk, along with thousands of netizens, took to social media to condemn the killing of the beloved internet pet and said, "The government should not be allowed to barge into your house and kill your pet! That’s messed up...Even if it is illegal to have a pet squirrel (which it shouldn’t be), why kill PNut instead of simply releasing him into the forest!?". At the time, in another post, he also said that "President @realDonaldTrump will save the squirrels 🐿️ 😢 RIP P’Nut." However, a lot has changed since then. Musk has gone from being a Trump ally to a Trump adversary, and given the drama, it seems like this might be only the beginning of this feud.