Musk goes nuclear: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election"
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Elon Musk at a town hall meeting on March 30 in Green Bay, Wisconsin before the state's high-profile Supreme Court election. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Elon Musk declared all-out war on President Trump Thursday, writing on X: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate."
- "Such ingratitude," Musk added.
Why it matters: The public breakup between Trump and Musk — a key adviser who spent nearly $300 million to support the president's campaign and Republicans in 2024 — has escalated dramatically.
- Amid Musk's tirade on X, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the former DOGE head "just went crazy" and threatened to cancel Musk's billions of dollars' worth of government contracts.
- Musk then posted: "Time to drop the really big bomb: Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!"
Context: At the heart of the feud is Trump's signature "One, Big, Beautiful Bill," a massive tax-and-spending package projected to add trillions to national debt over the next 10 years.
- After Musk launched a lobbying campaign to "Kill the Bill" on Wednesday, Trump suggested to reporters that the Tesla CEO was angry about the legislation rolling back electric vehicle tax credits.
- Tesla stock plunged more than 15% as the extraordinary clash unfolded.
What they're saying: "Whatever. Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill," Musk wrote on X.
- As Trump was openly discussing their tense relationship during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, Musk dug up old tweets of the president railing against deficit spending and increases to the debt limit. "Where is this guy today?" Musk asked.
- Musk also denied Trump's claim that he "knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody," writing: "False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!"
Between the lines: Democrats and liberal pundits have long speculated that the relationship between Trump and Musk — two huge personalities with strong personal views — would end in disaster.
- But for six months, there was barely any daylight: As recently as last week, Trump honored Musk in the Oval Office and praised him as a "friend" who did excellent work on DOGE.
- Now, with Musk having exited the administration, the relationship is collapsing — spectacularly — in full public view.
What to watch: "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?" Musk asked in a poll of his millions of loyal X followers.
- He later wrote in response to speculation about who Republicans would choose: "[S]ome food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years …"
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.
