Trump’s conflict with Musk explodes into a public feud

WASHINGTON — The simmering tension between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk exploded in public Thursday, with the president sharply criticizing the Tesla CEO’s attacks on the Republican policy bill and Musk firing back that the president would have lost the election without his help.

“I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”

The comments — and the flurry of online retorts from Musk that quickly followed — mark the latest development in a remarkable break between the world’s richest man and the U.S. president who invited him into his administration. Musk’s actions at the Department of Government Efficiency defined the early stages of Trump’s second term, and the two showered each other in mutual praise earlier this year. But the relationship cooled as Trump’s priorities shifted to major spending legislation and Musk wound down his time at the White House.

Trump suggested that Musk, who earlier this week called the GOP bill a “disgusting abomination,” was upset that the bill cut out a tax credit meant to incentivize electric vehicle purchases.

“Elon’s upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles and they’re having a hard time with electric vehicles and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy,” Trump said. “Elon knew this from the beginning.”

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, Musk has said he is back at work at his companies, including Tesla and major government contractor SpaceX, “24/7.” Tesla’s stock, however, has stumbled as he’s ramped up his attacks on Trump’s signature bill. Shares are down more than 20% so far this year.

Trump’s comments Thursday are his strongest yet against a man who was once his top campaign donor and one of his closest advisers. Musk, who jokingly referred to himself as “first buddy,” officially left the administration last week on a less amicable note.

“I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” he told CBS during his last few days as a special government employee.

Reacting to Trump’s comments Thursday, Musk first brushed them off, posting “whatever,” before quickly escalating to claims that Trump owes his election victory to him.

“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” he said. “Such ingratitude,” he added.

Musk, who spent more than $250 million to help Trump in last year’s presidential election, said last month that he planned to do “a lot less” political spending in future elections. “I think I’ve done enough,” he told Bloomberg.

Musk’s opposition to the House bill appears to have also strained his relationship with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who said Wednesday that the billionaire had done a “180” in terms of his support of the measure and didn’t respond to his call after Musk came out against it. Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday morning that he had planned to call Musk again during the day.

The version narrowly passed by the House would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, eliminate taxes on tips and overtime work, boost funding for immigration enforcement and the military, would make cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted in an estimate released Wednesday that the legislation would add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.

Last week, Trump praised Musk’s work leading the Department of Government Efficiency, which directed massive financial and job cuts to the federal government — but still fell short of Musk’s goal of cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget.

“Elon’s really not leaving,” Trump said. “He’s going to be back and forth, I think. … It’s his baby and I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things. But Elon’s service to America has been without comparison in modern history.”