Forget Brad and Angelina, Ben and Jenn, The Beatles, Brexit, or even Henry VIII and his wives. This is the biggest split in recent history. Donald Trump and Elon Musk have officially ended their bromance, and it looks like it will spell trouble for the house of government-subsidized cards that make up Elon’s business empire.
In a post on his Truth Social network Thursday afternoon, Trump said his administration could end the government contracts that are keeping Musk’s SpaceX alive.“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!” Trump wrote.
Then he added that Musk “just went CRAZY” when Trump ordered the Feds to end the EV subsidies that were generating much of Tesla’s profits (see below). Musk was quick to fire back, hitting at what could be a major sore spot for the president: “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
It all started with Musk’s Tuesday tweet that called Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” a fiscal disaster. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk wrote. The next day the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would add at least $2.7 trillion to the existing $36 trillion national debt over the next decade.
In the past 20 years, Musk’s companies have received more than $38 billion from the federal and local governments, the Washington Post reported, two-thirds of that in the past five years. Last year, Musk’s companies got $6.3 billion and they were expecting even more this year.
Besides EV subsidies, the money goes to SpaceX’s rocket programs, which also send and recover astronauts from the International Space Station, and launch Starlink satellites, which are used by the U.S. military, as well as by civilians.Musk has already shown with DOGE what he can do to Trump’s enemies. But what can he do to Trump’s friends? And what about his frenemies? And what about his enemies who once were his friends?