In a stunning escalation of tensions between two of America’s most powerful and controversial figures, Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are now embroiled in an open and increasingly personal war of words over federal spending, tax policy, and even long-buried scandals linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
What began as a policy disagreement over Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation-the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”-has erupted into a bitter public feud, with Musk stepping down from his government role and accusing Trump of ingratitude, deception, and even implication in the still-classified Epstein files.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the social media platform X, stunned Washington when he abruptly resigned from his position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump-era agency created in his second term to slash wasteful federal spending.
Musk had served in the role since early 2024 and was widely credited with driving over $175 billion in savings through agency mergers, workforce reductions, and infrastructure modernization. But on June 4, Musk said he could no longer support Trump’s legislative agenda, citing irreconcilable concerns over the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ a sweeping tax and spending package passed by the House in May and now awaiting Senate approval.
In his resignation statement, Musk lambasted the bill for ballooning the national debt and “undoing the core mission” of DOGE. He later described it as a “catastrophic mistake” that would saddle future generations with what he termed “debt slavery.”
President Trump, speaking to reporters on June 5, did not hold back. “I’m very disappointed in Elon,” he said. “I’ve helped Elon a lot.” Trump insisted that Musk had full knowledge of the bill’s contents and only raised objections after learning it would roll back electric vehicle (EV) subsidies-benefits that have been key to Tesla’s business model.
“And if you saw the statements he made about me … I’m very disappointed in Elon,” Trump added. “When he found out that we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate, because that’s billions and billions of dollars, he suddenly had a problem with the bill.”
Trump later took to Truth Social, implying that Musk’s protest was motivated by personal financial interest. “The easiest way to save billions of dollars of budget money is to terminate Musk’s governmental subsidies and contracts. When I took away Musk’s EV mandate, he just went CRAZY!” the president wrote.
Unfazed, Musk doubled down on his opposition to the legislation. In a series of posts on X, he accused Trump of misleading the public and declared the bill a threat to national stability. “KILL the BILL,” he wrote in all caps, claiming it would deepen inequality, enrich the ultra-wealthy, and strip health coverage from millions.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) appears to back some of Musk’s claims. A nonpartisan analysis released this week projects that the legislation would add approximately $2.4 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade. It also predicts that 10.9 million more Americans will lose health insurance by 2034, due largely to Medicaid and ACA subsidy rollbacks.
Critics have described the bill as a “tax cut for the top 1% wrapped in a border wall ribbon.” It seeks to make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, further reduce corporate tax rates, and inject billions into defense and immigration enforcement spending.
The feud has turned sharply personal in recent days. In response to Trump’s accusation that he betrayed their relationship, Musk shot back, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
Trump has not confirmed the extent of Musk’s campaign influence, but analysts agree Musk’s platforms and endorsements played a significant role in energizing conservative tech voters and independent centrists during the 2024 election.
Still, Musk wasn’t done. On June 6, he issued what many saw as a bombshell: “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.”
The allegation refers to sealed materials related to the late Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose death in 2019 sparked global controversy and enduring conspiracy theories. Despite Trump’s campaign pledge to fully declassify the Epstein case documents, key items-such as flight logs, client names, and Epstein’s contacts-remain under court seal.
Musk’s post added, “Have a nice day, DJT! Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
Trump and his representatives have not responded directly to the Epstein allegation. However, observers note that if substantiated, such claims could have explosive political consequences, particularly as Trump seeks to solidify Republican support ahead of the 2026 midterms and potential third term ambitions.
The Musk-Trump rift has sent shockwaves through both political and corporate circles. Financial markets reacted sharply to the feud, with Tesla stock down 4.2% amid fears of federal retaliation. Defense and energy contractors linked to Musk’s companies are also reportedly reviewing their ties to government initiatives in light of Trump’s warning about terminating contracts.
Meanwhile, conservative lawmakers appear divided. Some, like Sen. Josh Hawley, have rushed to Trump’s defense, calling Musk “a turncoat billionaire who wants to protect his tax loopholes.” Others, like Sen. Rand Paul, have praised Musk’s fiscal warnings. “He’s right about the debt,” Paul said. “This bill is reckless.”
On the left, Democrats have seized on the infighting to highlight what they view as the incoherence of Trump’s economic agenda. “When even Elon Musk-Trump’s golden boy-says this bill is a disaster, you know it’s bad,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
As of now, Musk shows no signs of backing down, and Trump appears determined to pass the bill by July 4. Their once-mutually beneficial relationship now seems irreparably broken-one forged in ambition and unraveled by power politics, fiscal priorities, and a growing list of grievances.
The tech billionaire, once a prized asset of Trump’s government efficiency campaign, has become one of its most high-profile critics. And in launching unverified claims that Trump may be named in Epstein’s secret files, Musk may have crossed a point of no return-not just politically, but legally and reputationally as well.
What began as a policy dispute has become a proxy war over truth, transparency, and the real cost of loyalty in the age of billionaires and presidents.
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Jennifer Hicks is a columnist and political commentator writing on a large range of topics.
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