The Little Musk/Trump Spat of 2025

(formerly known as the Big Beautiful Breakup of 2025 - Musk & Trump)

Culture War Encyclopedia

Jun 13, 2025

By quoting from or paraphrasing sources, we are not implying that they are accurate/honest.

The Little Musk/Trump Spat of 2025

Intro

Once upon a time, we had D.O.G.E. and friendship between Trump and Elon. Independent reported in May of 2025,

Musk became a central fixture of Trump’s reelection campaign last summer and even more so after the president entered office in January, with the world’s richest man leading the charge to gut federal agencies.

Then came the big beautiful breakup over the so called Big Beautiful Bill that found Elon Musk, Representative Thomas Massie, Senator Ron Johnson, Senator Rand Paul and, reported Fox,

members of the House Freedom Caucus, which is considered the most conservative voting bloc within the lower chamber

on one side of a deepening canyon and on the other side President Trump and pretty much everyone else in Congress. Politico reported,

Elon Musk and Donald Trump were the main characters on the internet and across Washington day after day. Then the world’s richest man started to fade away.

Then, the fade away popped off into what amounted to Musk accusing Trump of being nefariously involved with Epstein and his dark deeds. Then Musk and Trump seemingly buried the hatchet. What happened? Let’s trace the thread of time.

Timeline

We must go back to long before Trump was ever president because, as we will see, in June of 2025, Elon Musk reminded us that back in 2012, Trump posted this...

Leading up to his 2nd term and at the start of it, president Trump seemed to be in tune with Elon Musk. This persisted for a time. For example, on March 22, 2025, Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) posted this,

Reportedly, Trump posted about Elon Musk 4 times a week on average on his Truth Social in February and March of 2025 and, Independent reports,

his Department of Government Efficiency led the firing of employees and shuttering of federal departments

However, President Trump, reportedly, did not post about Elon Musk at all in April. Meanwhile, it was reported on May 19 of 2025 that

Equally, until early April, Musk posted about the president on his X account almost every day but posts where Trump is mentioned have since tailed off.

By mid May it was being reported,

President Donald Trump has stopped mentioning Elon Musk on Truth Social as the administration takes a significant step back from the tech billionaire brought on to trim the federal budget.

Also,

The president has has also stopped using Musk’s name to raise money in emails to online supporters, according to Politico. Musk was mentioned almost daily until early March and since then, only one message including the SpaceX CEO was sent out touting a “Gulf of America” cap he once wore, according to the outlet.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that DOGE’s work “will surely continue,” but did not mention Musk directly in response to the outlet.

According to a report by Politico on May 19, 2025,

Image and caption from Politico, May 19, 2025.

They report also,

It’s not just Trump. The president’s top advisers, as well as official White House accounts, have also largely stopped posting photos and content that mentions Musk.

Graph and caption from Politico, May 19, 2025.

On May 28, Newsweek published, “Elon Musk's Bromance With Donald Trump Appears to Sour” by Theo Burman in which we read,

The relationship that has defined the second Trump administration is breaking down, according to those closest to the president.

Also,

It appears that Musk's departure from his public-facing role at DOGE has coincided with increasing frustrations between him and the president.
Musk often clashed with top figures in the White House, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over management of the IRS, Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the abolition of USAID, and the president himself over his intervention in Wisconsin's Supreme Court election in April, The Atlantic reported.

They report that the day before, May 27, Musk

said he was "disappointed" by Trump's "big, beautiful bill," as it included too much federal spending—the very thing Musk and DOGE spent months trying to cut.
"It increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said in an interview with CBS.
"I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion," he added.
Other clashes between the two include Musk's opposition to Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. The billionaire's tech companies rely heavily on the international supply chains that the tariffs have disrupted.
Musk also appeared to contradict Trump's long-standing bid to promote fossil fuels over renewable energy, writing on social media on Tuesday, "Compared to solar, oil is small-time."

Compare the above with "Elon Musk thanks Trump, says he’s leaving government work with DOGE" by Lora Kolodny and Ari Levy published CNBC on May 28, 2025 wherein we read,

With his official stint in government coming to an end, Elon Musk thanked President Donald Trump on Wednesday for “the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”
Since joining the second Trump administration at the beginning of the term in January, Musk has led the Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with slashing the size of the federal government.
As a so-called special government employee, Musk can work for the administration for 130 days in a calendar year. The end of May marks 130 days since Trump’s inauguration.

Those last 2 reports seem to paint in different tones, don’t they? At anny rate, on this day, May 29, 2025, Musk posted this,

CNBC also reported,

On a Tesla earnings call in April, Musk said that his time spent running DOGE would drop significantly by the end of May. On the same call, he said that he would still spend a “day or two per week” on government work until the end of Trump’s term.
Musk has also said he plans to keep his small office at the White House.

On May 30, Elon Musk reposted the following from Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) also from May 30,

At 1:43 AM UTC, on May 31st, @TeslaownersSV posted this,

At 4:03 AM UTC on June 1, Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) posted this which was shared by Department of Government Efficiency,

On June 1 at 3:26 PM UTC, Elon Clips (@ElonClipsX) posted this which Elon shared,

On June 3, Musk posted this,

Also on June 3, Elon Musk posted this,

I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.
This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.
Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.

Also on June 3, Reason published "It's Rand Paul and Elon Musk vs. Donald Trump Over the 'Big Beautiful Bill'" by Eric Beohm who writes,

Paul said he refuses to support "maintaining Biden spending levels," and Musk said the Trump-backed tax bill is "a disgusting abomination."

Also,

Trump slammed Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) in a Tuesday morning post on Truth Social that accused the senator of having "very little understanding" of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill (BBB), which the House passed last week. The bill would extend the 2017 personal income tax cuts and includes a number of new tax and spending provisions.
Trump wrote that the bill is a big "WINNER." He may see it that way, but every independent assessment of the package says it will add at least $3 trillion to the long-term deficit (and potentially as much as $5 trillion). That means the bill is doing the opposite of what Trump vowed to do in March during his speech to Congress, when he promised to balance the budget.
The prospect of that increased borrowing is at the root of Paul's objections. In a post on X, Paul seemingly responded to Trump's criticism by showing that he understands exactly what the BBB would do.
"The math doesn't add up," Paul wrote. "I'm not supporting a bill that increases the debt by $5 [trillion]. I refuse to support maintaining Biden spending levels."
Paul reiterated his view on the bill: He wants to extend the 2017 tax cuts, but in such a way that does not add to the deficit. In his posts on Tuesday, Paul added that "at least 4 of us in the Senate feel this way." Four GOP votes against the bill would be enough to block its passage through the Senate.

The report then mentions the post by Musk that we just saw above. The report also states,

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R–La.), who shepherded the BBB through the House last week, told The Hill that Musk was "terribly wrong" to criticize the bill. Other conservatives suggested that Musk was motivated more by the loss of tax credits that benefit Tesla than by genuine concern about the deficit.
Musk's motivations might not be pure, but that doesn't mean he's wrong. In a follow-up post on X, he wrote that "Congress is making America bankrupt." No lies detected there—and the BBB will make that situation worse.
Musk and Paul are at least living in reality. The White House, meanwhile, has resorted to trying to discredit the independent entities that have scored the bill. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) of engaging in partisan politics by saying the BBB would add to the deficit—echoing a criticism that Johnson made last week.

In their conclusion, they write that we should

give credit to Musk and Paul for holding the line on fiscal responsibility. Few of their fellow Republicans are willing to do that these days.

On June 3 at 11:28 AM UTC, Western Lensmen (@WesternLensman) posted this

Elon commented on the above with this

At 12:59 PM UTC, this was posted by Natalie F Danelishen,

At 1:30 PM UTC, Rand Paul posted this,

Musk would share the above and add "Absolutely".

Also on June 3 at 1:55 PM UTC, Mario Newfal (@MarioNawfal) posted the following which Elon shared,

Thomas Massie agreed publicly,

On June 4 at 2:58 AM UTC updated 4:50 AM UTC, Daily Mail published "Elon Musk accuses Trump of driving America into 'debt slavery' as he escalates war with president" by Katelyn Caralle. This report, however, offered nothing of import that we have not already seen from other sources.

On June 4, 5:50 PM UTC, Musk posted this,

Reporting about this on June 4, 2025 at 6:37 PM UTC, ABC News published "'KILL the BILL': Elon Musk continues to blast Trump's bill in barrage of social media posts" by Rachel Scott and Will Steakin.

At 9:27 PM UTC, Musk posted this

At 9:54 PM UTC, Thomas Massie posted this,

It’s insincere for @SpeakerJohnson to insinuate @elonmusk is against the Big Beautiful Bill because it doesn’t benefit his companies specifically.
Musk is a true America First entrepreneur who could have had a much more comfortable existence and a higher net worth by sitting on the sidelines of politics. But he cares about this country, so he got involved. He knows if America collapses financially, we aren’t making it to Mars. He’s right.
When he helped cut government waste he watched his dealerships get firebombed, he stood for free speech by sponsoring a social media platform and in return the Biden administration brought half a dozen bogus cases against him, he provided the rural broadband that politicians continually failed to provide with endless taxpayer boondoggles, he revolutionized automobiles after conventional car manufacturers got bailed out for their failures, and he gave our astronauts a way to the space station without hitching a ride on Russian rockets.
For the sake of our country, I hope he will stay engaged in politics. If he doesn’t, I don’t blame him. But I’ll be here in DC trying to keep politicians of both parties from stopping the amazing human progress that he and his engineers have enabled and will enable.

...and Musk reposted it,

On June 5 at 2:58 AM UTC updated at 4:50 AM UTC, Daily Mail published "Elon Musk accuses Trump of driving America into 'debt slavery' as he escalates war with president" by Katelyn Caralle.

On June 5, Musk posted something he would later remove.

It was, however, archived. Below is a screen-capture.

According to a report for the New Republic,

Less than a week ago, the two were palling around together in the Oval Office. I still remember a time where the Trump staged a Tesla commercial outside the White House! Now we’re here. With Elon Musk calling Donald Trump a pedophile.

According to a Fox News report,

Shortly after Musk posted about Trump being in the Epstein file, Trump posted his response to Truth Social.
"I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress," Trump said, turning his attention to the Big Beautiful Bill that is before the U.S. Senate. "It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that.
"I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" the president added.
Trump lambasted Musk on Thursday afternoon, saying he asked the former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head to leave.
"Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!" Trump said on Truth Social.

Also on June 5 at 2:20 PM UTC, Musk shared something Trump tweeted over a decade ago,

At 2:07 PM UTC, Representative Massie posted this,

Massie commented on his post with this,

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene shared the above and added her own thoughts,

At 3:25 PM UTC, Musk shared something,

At 4:29 PM UTC, Elon reminded us of something,

On June 5, last edited at 4:45 PM UTC, Doge Designer posted this,

A few minutes later, Musk shared the above,

On June 5 at 4:50 PM UTC, Konstantin Kisin posted this,

Also on June 5 at 4:57 PM UTC, Musk posted this,

At 5:23 PM UTC, Musk posted this,

On June 5 at 7:10 PM UTC, Fox News published "'KILL BILL' Elon Musk's conservative evolution puts him at odds with Trump on key legislation" by Emma Colton in which she writes,

A White House official told Fox News Digital that Musk and Trump have historically seen eye-to-eye on political issues more than they differ, adding they continue to share many political views when asked if Musk has gone further to the right than Trump since his work within the administration.
Trump spoke publicly about Musk's criticisms on Thursday from the Oval Office during a meeting with the chancellor of Germany, remarking he was "disappointed" with Musk's rebukes.
"I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people," Trump said in the Oval Office. "He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to have to cut the EV mandate, because that's billions and billions of dollars, and it really is unfair."
"Elon and I had a great relationship," he added. "I don’t know if we will anymore."

Elsewhere in the report, it reads,

DOGE is still operating following Musk's departure. The temporary cross-departmental organization will be dissolved on July 4, 2026, according to Trump's executive order that established the organization in January.

At 7:14 PM UTC, Musk shared this,

On June 5 at 8:26 PM UTC, Elon Musk (@elonmusk) posted this,

On June 5, 2025, BBC published "Trump 'very disappointed' by Musk as row explodes into public" by Mike Wendling who writes that Trump’s most direct criticism of

Musk's lobbying efforts against the proposals to cut taxes and slash government spending - a plan that has drawn criticism from Musk and some Republicans

up to that date was when he said

he was "very surprised" and "disappointed" with former ally Elon Musk's criticisms of his centrepiece budget bill.
"Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," Trump told reporters in the White House on Thursday.

Wendling also reported,

In response, Musk doubled down on X and accused the president of "Such ingratitude", adding: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election".

Wendling also reported that in the days since he officially left his post with D.O.G.E., Musk

has repeatedly criticised Trump's budget bill currently working its way through Congress, calling it a "disgusting abomination" and posting "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong."

This report also states that on that date, June 5,

during a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz

Trump expressed his disappointment with Musk’s view of this bill that Trump said Musk knew quite well and said at that conference,

"He hasn't said bad about me personally, but I'm sure that will be next."

Later on this date, the same reporter, writing for the same news agency in an other report stated,

The rift between US President Donald Trump and his former adviser Elon Musk has erupted into the open, with each trading insults after the tech billionaire criticised one of Trump's key domestic policies.
The two billionaires escalated the feud throughout Thursday, lobbing barbs at each other on the social media sites they each own, suggesting a bitter conclusion to their unlikely alliance.
The day began with Trump saying he was "disappointed" with Musk's criticisms of his administration's centrepiece tax and spending bill, musing that it may be the end of their "great relationship".
Musk then accused Trump of "ingratitude", adding: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election".
After hours of sparring, Trump appeared to downplay the situation. "Oh it's okay," he told news site Politico. "It's going very well, never done better." His aides have scheduled a phone call with Musk for Friday, the same news site reported.
Musk also appeared to believe there was a need to patch things up. Late on Thursday, in response to post by Bill Ackman, a prominent Trump backer, which suggested the pair needed to make peace, he wrote: "You're not wrong".

This reporter also writes that at that press conference, Trump

went on to suggest that Musk was upset about the removal of subsidies and mandates for electric vehicles, which could affect his Tesla business.

However, this report reads,

Musk denied this was the case and wrote: "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."

Also,

On his Truth Social network, Trump claimed that Musk "just went CRAZY" and went on to post: "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!"

In an other report on June 5 headlined, “Musk unleashes wild Epstein claim against Trump after being booted from DOGE” from Fox News President Trump is referred to as “former president”. Reporter Greg Wehner writes,