WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump lashed out on Thursday against his ally Elon Musk, saying he was “disappointed” by the billionaire’s public opposition to the sweeping tax-cut and spending bill that is at the heart of Trump’s agenda.
“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump said in the Oval Office, in his first direct response to Musk’s criticism. “He said the most beautiful things about me, and he hasn’t said bad about me personally, but I’m sure that’ll be next. But I’m, I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Even as Trump was speaking, Tesla CEO Musk unleashed a series of critical responses on X, the social media site he owns.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” he wrote. “Such ingratitude.”
Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla were down 9% following the outbursts, to their lowest level since late February.
The back-and-forth made it clear tensions had reached a boiling point between the world’s most powerful man and the world’s richest man, after weeks of speculation that they were headed for a clash of egos.
Musk, whose other companies include rocket company and government contractor SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink, spent nearly $300 million in the 2024 election in support of Trump and other Republican candidates.
Starting on Tuesday, the tech executive unleashed a series of blistering attacks against what Trump calls his “big, beautiful bill.” Musk called it a “disgusting abomination” that would deepen the federal deficit, amplifying a rift within the Republican Party that could threaten the bill’s prospects in the Senate.
Nonpartisan analysts say the bill could add $2.4 trillion to $5 trillion to the nation’s $36.2 trillion in debt.
Trump asserted that Musk’s complaints were motivated by the proposed elimination of consumer tax credits for electric vehicles.
Trump suggested that Musk was upset because he missed working for Trump, who gave Musk a praise-filled sendoff last week after the billionaire oversaw the president’s federal bureaucracy cost-cutting campaign.
“He’s not the first,” Trump said. “People leave my administration … then at some point they miss it so badly, and some of them embrace it and some of them actually become hostile.”
Musk had signaled that he planned to step back from politics, saying last month he planned to substantially scale back his political spending. Friction between him and Trump could hurt Republicans’ chances of keeping control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.
‘KILL THE BILL’
Musk also wrote, “Slim Beautiful Bill for the win,” adding “KILL the BILL.” He followed that up by saying he was fine with Trump’s planned cuts to electric vehicle credits as long as Republicans rid the bill of “mountain of disgusting pork” or wasteful spending.
Musk came into government with brash plans to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. He left last week having cut only about half of 1% of total spending.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency eliminated thousands of federal jobs and cut billions of dollars in foreign aid and other programs, causing disruption across federal agencies and fueling a wave of legal challenges.
His increasing focus on politics provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites in the U.S. and Europe, driving down sales and adding to investor concerns that Musk’s attention was too divided.
In departing the administration, Musk made it clear he planned to focus more of his time on his business empire.
Following Trump’s remarks, a White House official, speaking on background, underscored the shift in the once-close dynamic between Musk and Trump.
“The president is making it clear: this White House is not beholden to Elon Musk on policy,” the official said. “By attacking the bill the way he did, Musk has clearly picked a side.”
(Reporting By Nandita Bose, Andrea Shalal and Jarrett Renshaw, writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and David Gregorio)
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