Twenty-five minutes of reside TV, greater than a dozen posts on X, and three posts on Reality Social over the interval of 5 hours (and counting) — that is how the already fractured friendship of Elon Musk and President Donald Trump publicly unraveled on Thursday.
The primary indicators of hassle started when Musk confirmed opposition to Trump’s spending invoice, the “One Massive Lovely Invoice,” although he by no means explicitly focused Trump.
“Disgrace on those that voted for it,” Musk tweeted on Tuesday, referring to Congress members who voted for Trump’s tax reduce invoice.
Trump, for his half, had stayed uncharacteristically mum about Musk’s criticism of the invoice.
However that every one modified on Thursday morning.
Here’s a minute-by-minute breakdown of how the connection between two of probably the most highly effective males on the planet devolved.
Thursday, 11:20 a.m. ET
Musk started digging up Trump’s outdated posts on what was then Twitter concerning the deficit, together with one from January of 2013.
Thursday, 11:46 a.m. ET
Musk unearthed one other outdated X submit by Trump from again in July 2012, presumably as a swipe on the new Republican tax invoice that many economists and the congressional Price range Workplace mentioned would enhance the nation’s deficits.
Thursday, 12 p.m. ET
Trump responded to Musk’s assaults for the primary time when answering press questions throughout a White Home occasion to welcome German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“And you realize Elon’s upset as a result of we took the EV mandate, which was some huge cash for electrical automobiles,” mentioned Trump. “They usually’re having a tough time, the electrical automobiles. They usually need us to pay billions of {dollars} in subsidy. Elon knew this from the start; he knew it from a very long time in the past.”
Thursday, 12:07 p.m. ET
Trump’s feedback about Musk continued on the press look.
“He knew each facet of this invoice — higher than nearly anyone —and he by no means had an issue till proper after he left,” mentioned Trump. “He mentioned probably the most stunning issues about me. He hasn’t mentioned unhealthy issues about me personally, however I am certain that’ll be subsequent. However I am very disenchanted in Elon. I’ve helped Elon rather a lot.”
“Folks go away my administration, and so they love us, after which sooner or later they miss it so badly, and a few of them embrace it, and a few of them really turn out to be hostile,” Trump continued.
“I do not know what it’s. It is type of Trump derangement syndrome, I assume they name it, however we now have it with others, too. They go away and so they get up within the morning, and the glamour’s gone. The entire world is completely different, and so they turn out to be hostile,” he added.
Thursday, 12:25 p.m. ET
Musk started a whirlwind of tweets quickly after, responding in close to actual time to what Trump mentioned in the course of the press look.
“False, this invoice was by no means proven to me even as soon as and was handed at midnight so quick that just about nobody in Congress may even learn it!” Musk posed on X.
False, this invoice was by no means proven to me even as soon as and was handed at midnight so quick that just about nobody in Congress may even learn it! https://t.co/V4ztekqd4g
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
Thursday, 12:46 p.m. ET
Musk then started a sequence of tweets directed on the president past the invoice, together with saying that with out him, Republicans would have misplaced.
Thursday, 1:57 p.m. ET
Musk polls his X followers about creating a brand new political celebration “that really represents the 80% within the center.” Mark Cuban quoted the submit with three checkmarks.
Is it time to create a brand new political celebration in America that really represents the 80% within the center?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
Thursday, 2:23 p.m. ET
Musk provides Trump’s invoice — identified on paper because the “One Massive Lovely Invoice” — a brand new title: “Massive Ugly Spending Invoice.”
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Thursday, 2:37 p.m. ET
Trump responds to Musk with two consecutive posts on his personal social media platform, Reality Social.
“Elon was ‘sporting skinny,’ I requested him to go away, I took away his EV Mandate that compelled everybody to purchase Electrical Automobiles that no one else needed (that he knew for months I used to be going to do!), and he simply went CRAZY!” Trump wrote.
“The simplest approach to economize in our Price range, Billions and Billions of {Dollars}, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I used to be all the time shocked that Biden did not do it!” the president continued.
Thursday, 2:48 p.m. ET
Musk responds to Trump’s posts on Reality Social, calling them “such an apparent lie.”
Thursday, 2:49 p.m. ET
A minute later, Musk appeared to dare Trump to cancel authorities contracts along with his corporations.
Thursday, 3:10 p.m. ET
Musk makes one other accusation.
Time to drop the actually massive bomb:@realDonaldTrump is within the Epstein recordsdata. That’s the actual purpose they haven’t been made public.
Have a pleasant day, DJT!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
Thursday, 4:06 p.m. ET
Trump posts on Reality Social once more to defend his tax invoice.
“I do not thoughts Elon turning in opposition to me, however he ought to have performed so months in the past. This is among the Biggest Payments ever introduced to Congress,” Trump wrote.
“It is a Document Lower in Bills, $1.6 Trillion {Dollars}, and the Largest Tax Lower ever given. If this Invoice would not go, there will likely be a 68% Tax Enhance, and issues far worse than that. I did not create this mess, I am simply right here to FIX IT,” Trump added.
Thursday, 4:09 p.m. ET
Musk says SpaceX will decommission its Dragon spacecraft “instantly.”
SpaceX’s Dragon spaceships transport NASA astronauts and provides to and from the Worldwide Area Station. Previous to partnering with SpaceX, the company relied on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for crewed missions.
Thursday, 4:26 p.m. ET
Musk says that Trump’s tariffs will “trigger a recession within the second half of this yr.”
Some economists have additionally predicted that Trump’s tariffs would harm the financial system, and Trump himself declined to rule out the probabilities of a recession again in March.
JPMorgan had predicted a 60% probability of a US recession after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on April 2. The financial institution adjusted the chance right down to beneath 50% not too long ago after Trump paused most of his highest tariffs.
Thursday, 4:43 p.m. ET
Musk retweeted what seems to be a video of Trump partying with Epstein from the Nineties, doubling down on his earlier assertion concerning the Epstein recordsdata.
“That is an unlucky episode from Elon, who’s sad with the One Massive Lovely Invoice as a result of it doesn’t embrace the insurance policies he needed,” White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt instructed Enterprise Insider in a press release. “The President is concentrated on passing this historic piece of laws and making our nation nice once more.”
Representatives for Tesla didn’t instantly reply to requests for feedback.
Thursday, 9:20 p.m. ET
Musk took a softer tone afterward Thursday night time.
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Some 5 hours after his submit about decommissioning the Dragon spacecraft, he walked again the choice in a response to an X consumer.
“This can be a disgrace this backwards and forwards. You might be each higher than this. Cool off and take a step again for a pair days,” X consumer Fab25june wrote on the platform.
“Good recommendation. Okay, we cannot decommission Dragon,” Musk wrote at 9:20 p.m.
In a separate alternate on X, billionaire investor Invoice Ackman inspired Musk and Trump to make up.
“I help @realDonaldTrump and @elonmusk and they need to make peace for the good thing about our nice nation. We’re a lot stronger collectively than aside,” Ackman wrote.
“You are not incorrect,” Musk responded at 9:27 p.m.
Friday, earlier than 8:27 a.m. ET
Trump spoke concerning the feud on Friday morning throughout a cellphone name with CNN’s Dana Bash.
“I am not even excited about Elon,” Trump mentioned. “He is received an issue. The poor man’s received an issue.”
Trump would not intend to talk to Musk “for some time” and desires Musk nicely, in keeping with Bash.
Bash mentioned folks in Musk and Trump’s orbit try to fix the rift.
Friday, 5:05 p.m. ET
The President seems to reply to Musk’s allegation that he is within the so-called “Epstein recordsdata.”
On Reality Social, Trump posted a screenshot of an X submit from David Schoen, Epstein’s protection lawyer. Schoen mentioned within the submit that Epstein “had no data to harm President Trump.”
“I particularly requested him!” Schoen wrote.
Friday, round 6:15 p.m. ET
Trump reiterated that he wasn’t excited about Musk whereas touring with reporters aboard Air Pressure One.
He wished Musk the most effective of luck on his Tesla enterprise.
“I imply, I hope he does nicely with Tesla,” he mentioned.
Friday, 6:16 p.m. ET
Musk discovered a reputation for his new political celebration proposal:
“The America Celebration.”
In a separate submit on X, Musk mentioned the “folks have spoken” because the polling outcomes confirmed that 80% of the 5.6 million individuals voted “Sure” to creating a celebration that represents “the center.”
Friday, 9:48 p.m. ET
Musk mentioned on X that he would apologize to Trump “profusely as quickly as there’s a full dump of the Epstein recordsdata.”
The CEO was responding to a submit from James Fishback, an investor who proposed the concept of DOGE dividend checks, who posted on X that Musk ought to ship Trump a “full-throated apology.”
“You may substantively disagree with the President on coverage, however you shouldn’t have baselessly and personally attacked him,” Fishback wrote.
Friday, 10:46 p.m. ET
Trump and Musk appeared to increase one another an olive department — no less than for a quick second.
The White Home fast response account on X posted a clip of Trump’s gaggle with the press on Air Pressure One, highlighting the president saying he needs Musk nicely.
“Likewise,” Musk mentioned in response at 10:46 p.m.
Saturday, earlier than 11 a.m. ET
Musk deleted a number of the X posts he made on Thursday, together with one through which he mentioned Trump was named within the Epstein recordsdata. He additionally deleted a tweet saying his intention to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
Nonetheless, different the X posts Musk made, together with criticism of the tax invoice, stay on his account.
Saturday, earlier than 12:30 p.m. ET
Trump instructed NBC Information in a cellphone interview that he has no plans to amend his relationship with Musk and threatened that there can be “severe penalties” if the Tesla CEO funded Democratic candidates.
