Trump and Musk’s rivalry erupts with threats of contract termination and support for impeachment

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump engaged in a full-fledged social media war after Musk said that Trump should be impeached and threatened to terminate federal contracts with Musk’s businesses on Thursday.

Trump’s in-office criticism of Tesla CEO Elon Musk sparked the conflict. As the richest and most powerful men in the world took personal jabs at one other on Musk’s X and Trump’s Truth Social, the once-close friendship quickly fell apart in the public eye.

“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Shares of Musk’s electric car company were dumped by Wall Street speculators, and Tesla closed 14.3% down, shedding around $150 billion in market value. It was the biggest value drop in Tesla’s history in a single day.

Musk responded, “Yes,” to a post on X that suggested Trump should be impeached just minutes after the closing bell. It is quite improbable that Trump will be impeached because his Republicans control majorities in both chambers of Congress.

The conflict between the two began to simmer a few days ago when Musk criticized Trump’s massive spending and tax cut proposal. While Musk ran on a campaign to block the law, claiming it would significantly increase the country’s $36.2 trillion debt, the president first remained silent.

Breaking his silence, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he was “very disappointed” in Musk.

“You see, Elon and I got along really well. Trump remarked, “I’m not sure if we will anymore.”

Musk posted increasingly scathing comments on X in real time in response to Trump’s remarks.

Musk, who invested around $300 million in supporting Trump and other Republicans in the election last year, said, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” “Such ingratitude.”

Musk said in a different article that the United States will enter a recession later this year as a result of Trump’s trademark tariffs.

In addition to Tesla, Musk owns SpaceX, a government contractor and rocket company, as well as Starlink, a satellite division.

Musk, whose space company is essential to the U.S. government’s space program, stated that Trump’s threats would cause him to start 

dismantling the Dragon spaceship from SpaceX. The only American spaceship that can transport humans to the International Space Station is Dragon.

A PUGILISTIC PAIR

The rivalry wasn’t totally surprising. Many analysts had predicted that Trump and Musk would eventually fall out since they are both political pugilists with large egos and a propensity for using social media to retaliate against their perceived opponents.

Musk’s influence had already diminished prior to his exit from the government last week after a string of arguments with cabinet members over his agency cuts.

The altercation was the first significant disagreement Trump has had with a prominent aide since he was elected president a second time, following a first term that was characterized by a number of outbursts.

During his time in the White House from 2017 until 2021, Trump fired several chiefs of staff, national security advisors, and political strategists. While several, like Ambassador John Bolton, became outspoken and vociferous detractors, others, like Steve Bannon, stayed in his good graces.

Musk, who was the largest Republican fundraiser during the 2024 campaign season, rose to prominence as one of Trump’s most prominent advisors when he led the Department of Government Efficiency, which launched a broad and contentious drive to reduce federal spending and staff.

Musk visited the White House on a regular basis and appeared on Capitol Hill several times, occasionally with his young kid in tow.

Trump and Musk made a joint appearance in the Oval Office just six days prior to Thursday’s explosion, during which Trump commended Musk’s government service and the two men pledged to keep cooperating.

Republicans may find it more challenging to maintain control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections if Trump and Musk continue their long-running rivalry. Musk has a sizable internet following in addition to his campaign expenditures, and he assisted Trump in establishing connections with affluent contributors and areas of Silicon Valley.

Musk had previously stated that he intended to reduce his future political expenditures.

Musk asked his 220 million followers on X shortly after Trump’s remarks in the Oval Office: “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?”

“KILL THE BILL”

Trump referred to his “big, beautiful bill” this week, but Musk criticized it, calling it a “disgusting abomination” that would increase the national debt. His criticism exacerbated a division among the Republican Party that may jeopardize the bill’s chances of passing the Senate.

Trump’s bill could increase the country’s $36.2 trillion debt by $2.4 trillion to $5 trillion, according to nonpartisan economists.

Trump claimed that Musk’s real grievance was that the law will no longer provide customer tax rebates for electric cars. Additionally, the president implied that Musk was disgruntled because he missed his job in the White House.

According to Trump, “He’s not the first,” Thursday. “People leave my administration … then at some point they miss it so badly, and some of them embrace it and some of them actually become hostile.”

On X, Musk tweeted, “KILL the BILL,” adding that he supported Trump’s proposed reductions in electric vehicle credits, provided Republicans removed any “mountain of disgusting pork” or unnecessary spending from the measure.

He said, “Where is this guy today?” after bringing up previous statements made by Trump criticizing the amount of federal expenditure.

Musk boldly proposed cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget when he took office. He disrupted several agencies and only reduced roughly 0.5 percent of overall budget when he left last week.

Sales at Tesla locations in the US and Europe were negatively impacted by Musk’s growing political interest, which also caused investors to worry that Musk’s concentration was too split.