USA ( Europe Brief News): President Trump expressed uncertainty over his relationship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, raising questions about their political and business alignment.
He remarks that the billionaire’s criticism of the tax cut measure that Trump is attempting to get through Congress has “very disappointed” him. Musk swiftly retaliated on his microblogging platform, X. “Trump wouldn’t have won the election if it weren’t for me. What a lack of gratitude.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the owner of X and SpaceX, personally campaigned for Trump in 2024, including in Pennsylvania, a crucial state, and contributed over $250 million to his campaign.
Trump appears to have incited the tech billionaire’s attack by claiming that he would have won in Pennsylvania even if Musk hadn’t been involved. Because Musk jumped right into his keyboard to reply to X in a rage after making that statement.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, the Democrats would have controlled the House and the Republicans would have a 51-49 majority in the Senate,” Musk said. “What ingratitude,”
he added in a follow-up message.
Musk was assigned a significant position at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) following Trump’s election victory. He resigned from DOGE late last month, expressing gratitude to Donald Trump for the chance to “reduce government waste.”
The two trillion dollars in savings that were initially promised never happened. It is estimated that 175 billion dollars were saved overall. Musk claimed in his exit from DOGE that although he is no longer employed by the Trump administration, he is still a “friend and advisor.”
Trump is now particularly critical of his (former? ed.) political ally.
“Look, Elon and I had a good relationship. I don’t know if that’s still the case. I was surprised,”
Trump told reporters during his press moment with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House. Musk called Trump’s mega-law ” a disgusting abomination .”
The bill, which includes tax cuts and increased funding for border security and defense, barely cleared the House of Representatives. It is anticipated that the national debt would rise. Republicans are opposing it in the Senate, which still needs to pass it.
Musk was chastised by President Trump, who said that the billionaire was aware of the plan and only voiced his opposition after policies that benefited him were eliminated.
Musk responded on his microblogging site X as though he had been stung by a wasp. He accused Trump of disseminating false information and posted the video of his remarks.
“This bill was never shown to me once and was pushed through so quickly in the middle of the night that almost no one in Congress could even read it.”
How might Musk’s public criticism influence Trump’s future support for him?
Given that Musk served in his administration and was a significant financial supporter of his 2024 campaign, Trump sees Musk’s opposition as a betrayal. Trump hinted that the relationship might be over while expressing surprise and disappointment.
Trump primarily blames Musk’s complaints on the bill’s elimination of tax benefits for electric vehicles, which favored Tesla. This aspect of Musk’s financial self-interest feeds Trump’s disapproval of his position.
With Musk referring to the bill as a “disgusting abomination” and Trump accusing Musk of having “Trump derangement syndrome,” the public feud has intensified, creating a hostile environment that is unlikely to encourage future cooperation or support.
Musk’s calls to “fire all politicians who betrayed the American people” and his warning to oppose lawmakers who support the bill blatantly contradict Trump’s political base and legislative objective.
