Trump confirms split with Elon Musk amid Democrat funding threat
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Donald Trump says his relationship with Elon Musk is over in an NBC interview amid tensions over a Republican tax bill.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington (AP)
US President Donald Trump warned that there would be "serious consequences" if Elon Musk funds US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the president's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, declaring that his relationship with the billionaire donor was over, in a statement he made on Saturday.
During a telephone interview for NBC News, Trump refused to specify what those consequences would entail while also noting that he had not discussed whether to investigate Musk.
When questioned whether he believed his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had ended, Trump responded that he would assume so, and when pressed further about whether he had any interest in repairing ties with Musk, Trump firmly answered in the negative during the NBC interview.
Trump, Musk fall out
This comes as the United States President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk clash over Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill", which Musk described as a "disgusting abomination".
On June 3, Elon Musk launched a scathing critique on social media targeting a key Republican-supported spending plan championed by former President Donald Trump. The proposed legislation, dubbed the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," has emerged as a cornerstone of Trump's economic policy platform.
I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 3, 2025
This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.
Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.
“I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot. Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore," Trump stated on June 5, during his meeting with the newly elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the White House.
Trump intensified the conflict by vowing to strip Elon Musk of federal contracts, declaring on Truth Social that "the easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts."
Tesla stock down
The feud between the once-allies, now-enemies, plunged Tesla stock down by 14% by June 6, following Trump's threat to cut Musk's subsidies and contracts.
The clash of egos reached a climax when Elon Musk took to X and claimed that the reason US President Donald Trump did not publicize the highly anticipated "Epstein Files" is that Trump's name is mentioned in the documents.
Trump fired back on Truth Social by sharing a denial from Jeffrey Epstein's former defense lawyer David Schoen, who stated, "I can say authoritatively, unequivocally and definitively that [Epstein] had no information to hurt President Trump," while adding, "I specifically asked him!" in response to the allegations.
Following the Truth Social post, Trump held several telephone interviews with US media, questioning the billionaire's sanity and discrediting Musk's claims.
