Billionaire betrayal: Musk slams Trump, risks SpaceX’s future

The relationship between US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk has had its ups and downs over the years. However, things took a serious turn on Thursday, 5th June, ending what seemed like a strong partnership in the White House.

The trouble began after a disagreement over Trump’s new tax bill, which has sparked growing tension in recent days. The situation worsened when Musk openly criticized the bill and even suggested that President Trump should be impeached (formally removed from office through a legal process).

In a series of social media posts, Elon Musk made personal attacks on Donald Trump. He eventually made a bold claim—without providing any proof—that Trump’s name appears in the “Epstein files” (a set of documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of running a sex trafficking ring involving many powerful people).

Trump, on the other hand, hit back with a series of posts on social media. He claimed that he had personally asked Elon Musk to step down from his role in the White House. Trump also hinted at the possibility of stopping government funding and contracts that have been given to Musk’s companies, which could affect their business operations.

So, how did the relationship between Musk and Trump fall apart? And what could happen next between the man often called the world’s richest and the one known as the world’s most powerful?

The good times

Just a few months ago, before their public fight began, Musk and Trump appeared to be strongly united and working closely together in politics.

Musk had spent almost $200 million to help Trump win a second term in the 2024 election. Soon after Trump was re-elected, he showed his appreciation by giving Musk a top role—he put him in charge of a new government agency called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was created to reduce waste and improve how the government works.

Even the name of the department showed how much influence Musk had in Trump’s government, according to reports by Al Jazeera. The word “DOGE” comes from a popular internet meme (a humorous image, video, or phrase that spreads quickly online) featuring a dog, which Musk often used and promoted. This meme became widely known around 2010. Naming a serious government agency after it highlighted the level of freedom and control Musk had within Trump’s administration.

In the first few weeks of Trump’s second term, Musk quickly became one of the most powerful and talked-about people in the government. He also faced a lot of public criticism. As the head of DOGE, he led major cutbacks—thousands of federal employees were fired, and many government departments were downsized. One of the biggest changes was at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which saw its staff and programs heavily reduced.

Musk seemed so influential in the government that some Democrats jokingly started calling him “President Elon” just to annoy Trump and highlight how much control Musk appeared to have.

Despite the criticism, Trump and Musk showed they were united. In a Fox News interview in February, the US President and his advisor sat together and spoke highly of each other, openly expressing their admiration and support.

“He knows how to get things done. He’s a real leader,” Trump said about Musk.

“I really respect the president. I want to make that clear,” Musk said about Trump.

Musk, who was born in South Africa, has started sharing more right-wing opinions in recent years. He has also become openly critical of the Democratic Party and people with progressive (liberal or left-leaning) views.

Musk’s right-leaning views became more noticeable after he bought the social media platform Twitter (now called X) in 2022. As he shifted more towards the right, he began using the platform to strongly criticize illegal immigration and what he saw as restrictions on free speech. He especially targeted topics like identity politics and how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled and discussed

U.S Former President Joe Biden has generally supported the following positions, which Elon Musk has criticized:

1. Immigration Reform

Biden has backed a more compassionate approach to immigration, including:

Creating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Easing restrictions on asylum seekers.

Opposing mass deportations.

Musk, on the other hand, has spoken out against illegal immigration, calling for tighter border controls.

2. Identity Politics

Biden often acknowledges and supports social justice movements, including:

Promoting diversity and inclusion.

Supporting LGBTQ+ rights.

Addressing racial inequality.

Musk has criticized this as "identity politics", which he believes divides people and limits open discussion.

3. COVID-19 Policies

During the pandemic, Biden supported

Mask mandates, lockdowns, and vaccination drives.

Removing misinformation from social media about COVID-19.

Musk opposed many of these moves, arguing they restricted personal freedom and free speech.

In short, Biden leaned toward progressive policies on immigration, social justice, and pandemic response, while Musk increasingly supported more conservative or libertarian views, leading to their ideological differences.

Even while Musk was shifting towards more right-wing views, he and Trump didn’t always get along. In July 2022, Musk posted that Trump was becoming “too old to lead anything,” let alone be president.

At first, Musk didn’t even support Trump for the 2024 election. Instead, he backed Trump’s Republican rival, Ron DeSantis, and even hosted the Florida governor’s campaign launch on his platform, X (formerly Twitter).

However, everything changed after a failed attempt to assassinate Trump. In July 2024, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a bullet slightly injured Trump. This incident strongly influenced Musk’s support. After the attack, Musk publicly said he would “fully endorse” Trump as the Republican candidate.

He even stood by Trump during a visit back to Butler in September that same year, showing his complete support for the former president.

The Split

Trump’s close friendship—or “bromance”—with Musk started falling apart after a few tense months. There had been growing talk of private arguments between Musk and some key people in the president’s team, hinting that all was not well behind the scenes.

In April, Musk said he would start spending less time at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). By then, it was clear that his influence in the government was shrinking. He was no longer making big news or frequently seen in the Oval Office with President Trump, as he once was.

In late May, Musk openly criticized the White House's tax and budget plan called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Speaking on the CBS Sunday Morning show, Musk said, “Honestly, I was disappointed to see such a huge spending plan. Instead of cutting down the budget deficit, it makes it worse. It also goes against what the DOGE team has been working hard to fix.”

The bill includes cuts to electric vehicle (EV) subsidies, which help Musk’s Tesla company. However, Musk says that’s not the main reason he’s against it. He says he opposes the bill because it adds to the country’s growing debt and is filled with complicated rules and details. In fact, the bill is over 1,000 pages long, making it hard to understand and manage.

Trump, who is known for being outspoken and often picking fights, surprisingly stayed calm when Musk first started criticizing the bill. Even though he had strongly backed the bill as a key part of his economic plan, he told reporters, “I’m not happy with some parts of it either,” showing he had a few concerns himself.

Soon after, the two appeared together in the Oval Office, where Trump marked the end of Musk’s official role as a special government employee. However, even at that event, Trump said Musk was “not really leaving,” suggesting that he still considered Musk part of his team in some way.

After stepping down from his government role, Musk didn’t just speak out against the budget bill—he seemed to be actively trying to stop it. The bill had barely made it through the House of Representatives and was now facing a tough battle in the Senate as well.

On Monday, Musk posted on X, saying, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t take it anymore. This huge spending bill from Congress is filled with wasteful spending and is completely unacceptable.”

Musk added, “Those who voted for this should be ashamed. Deep down, you know it was the wrong thing to do.”

On Thursday, 5th June, the US President responded sharply, beginning with a public appearance in the Oval Office alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“I’m really disappointed,” Trump said. “Elon understood the details of this bill better than most people here. At first, he was fine with it—then suddenly, he started having a problem with it.”

Trump told the reporters that Musk was upset mainly because of the government’s new electric vehicle (EV) policies. He also guessed that Musk probably wanted to remain in the White House and wasn’t happy about leaving.

“I’ll be honest—I think he misses being here,” Trump said. “It’s like a case of what I call ‘Trump derangement syndrome.’ Others have gone through it too. They leave the White House, and when they wake up the next day, the excitement is gone. Everything feels different, and they start acting angry or bitter.”

After that, Trump continued his criticism on his own social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump wrote in a post on social media, “Elon was becoming too much to deal with, so I asked him to step down. I also removed the EV mandate that forced people to buy electric cars—even though he knew for months I planned to do it. After that, he completely lost it!”

Meanwhile, Musk kept posting on social media, where he continued to criticize Trump’s budget bill and even claimed credit for helping Trump win the election.

Musk wrote, “Trump wouldn’t have won the election without my support. The Democrats would have taken control of the House, and the Republicans would barely hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate. It’s disappointing to see such lack of gratitude.”

What’s Coming, and Who Will Take the Lead?

What comes next is still uncertain. While Musk has become more popular among Republican supporters, a big part of his political success was because of his close connection with Trump.

Now, Musk might end up disliked by both Democrats and Trump supporters.

Meanwhile, President Trump has a history of bouncing back from controversies, including serious legal issues—like being found guilty in the New York hush money case.

Newyork Hush Money Case

In 2016, Donald Trump was accused of paying $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an affair. Prosecutors said this broke election rules. In 2024, a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 crimes for hiding this payment in his business records. It was a major and historic court decision.

Trump has also shown that he’s willing to use the government’s power against his political opponents. Most recently, he ordered an investigation into the team of former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who led the country before him.

Trump has already issued a warning about possible threats to Musk’s companies, like SpaceX and Starlink. He said that one of the simplest ways to cut government spending and save billions of dollars is to cancel the government contracts and subsidies given to Musk’s businesses.

However, Musk also has the power to hurt Trump’s plans. During his inauguration speech, Trump talked about his dream of putting a US flag on Mars. But on Thursday, Musk announced that he might shut down a SpaceX rocket that the US government uses to send astronauts to the International Space Station. He said this could be his way of responding to Trump’s recent comments.

Musk might also team up with lawmakers who want to reduce government spending to stop Trump’s major tax bill from passing in the Senate.

Even though Musk attacked Trump on Thursday, the US president later used one of his social media posts to steer the attention back to his main focus—the "One Big Beautiful Bill". He seemed more interested in promoting the bill than responding to Musk’s criticism.

Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I’m not upset that Elon is now against me, but he should have spoken up much earlier. This bill is one of the best ever brought to Congress. It includes a record $1.6 trillion in spending cuts and the largest tax cut ever given.”

Trump also warned, “If this bill doesn’t get approved, taxes could go up by 68%, and even more serious problems could follow.”