Trump and Musk trade insults and accusations as public feud intensifies

Washington — The relationship between President Trump and Elon Musk broke down in dramatic and public fashion on Thursday, with the president threatening to cancel Musk's lucrative government contracts and Musk claiming that Mr. Trump could not have won the presidency without him, fueling a feud that erupted over Musk's opposition to Republicans' tax and budget bill.

In the afternoon, Musk dropped what he called "the really big bomb," alleging that Mr. Trump's name appeared in the files related to the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died by suicide in federal custody in 2019 while facing charges of sex trafficking. "@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public," Musk wrote on X. "Have a nice day, DJT!"

Trump officials vowed to unveil more files related to the Epstein case when the administration took power. In February, the Justice Department issued a limited release of unredacted versions of files that had been public for years, a move that was met with criticism by conservatives who have demanded more transparency.

Mr. Trump soon responded with another post of his own: "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."

Musk also expressed support for a post that said Mr. Trump should be impeached and replaced by Vice President JD Vance.

The break between the president and the world's richest man originated over Musk's ongoing criticism of Republicans' "big, beautiful bill" on Capitol Hill, which cuts taxes by trillions of dollars and implements Mr. Trump's domestic agenda, including cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in spending. Musk has railed against the legislation as "outrageous" and "a disgusting abomination." The Congressional Budget Office estimated on Wednesday that the bill would lead to an increase of $2.4 trillion in total deficits over the next 10 years, a conclusion that Republicans and Mr. Trump dispute.

"This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Thursday evening. "The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again."

The president was asked about Musk's criticism for the first time publicly during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office earlier Thursday.

"Elon and I had a great relationship," Mr. Trump told reporters. "I don't know if we will anymore."

Mr. Trump said Musk, the CEO of Tesla, was around for the whole process of crafting the bill. The president claimed he "never had a problem" with the legislation until provisions dealing with electric vehicle subsidies were eliminated, threatening Tesla's business. The bill would roll back some of the clean energy tax credits under the Biden-era climate and health care law, phasing out a tax break for clean energy vehicles.

"I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot," Mr. Trump told reporters, adding that Musk "worked hard" and did a "good job."

"And I'll be honest, I think he misses the place," the president continued. "He's not the first. People leave my administration and they love us. And then, at some point, they miss it so badly. And some of them embrace it and some of them actually become hostile. I don't know what it is. It's sort of Trump derangement syndrome, I guess they call it."

Appearing to respond to Mr. Trump's comments in real time, Musk wrote on X: "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." In another post, he denied that he was aware of the details in the bill when it was crafted, writing that "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!"

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," Musk went on. "Such ingratitude," he added.

Musk spent roughly $277 million to elect Mr. Trump and Republican lawmakers last year.

Mr. Trump volleyed back with attacks on Truth Social, claiming that he asked Musk to leave his administration and upset him with the legislative proposal ending the tax credits for electric vehicles.

"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!" the president wrote.

The president also threatened to cancel Musk's federal contracts, citing such a move as a cost-cutting measure.

"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!" Mr. Trump said.

SpaceX and Tesla get billions of dollars a year from federal contracts and other programs. Shares of Tesla plummeted following Mr. Trump's threat, dropping by as much as 18% in late trading.

Musk responded with a post on X saying, "In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately." But he followed that comment a few hours later with another post saying, "Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon." SpaceX's Crew Dragon is used by NASA to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.

Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, expressed support for Mr. Trump, saying on X late Thursday he is "proud to stand beside him" in a post that did not name Musk.

The president's comments expressing disappointment with Musk were a swift about-face. Less than a week ago, Mr. Trump gifted Musk a key to the White House as an expression of gratitude for his work with the White House's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Musk wrapped up his time in the federal government Friday, as he reached the maximum amount of days he could serve as a special government employee.

Mr. Trump said then that Musk was "really not leaving. He's going to be back and forth, I think, I have a feeling."

Musk's opposition has raised questions about whether Republicans can remain united around the centerpiece legislation of Mr. Trump's second-term agenda, but GOP leaders in Congress appeared undeterred Wednesday, as the Senate forged ahead on the legislation. Musk and House Speaker Mike Johnson are expected to speak Thursday about the bill's path forward.

Mr. Trump's comments about Musk came as Merz and the president met to discuss trade and tariffs, as well as Russia's war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East. But the part of the meeting that was open to the press was dominated by the questions about Musk.

"It's an honor to have you," Mr. Trump told the German leader, calling him a challenging negotiator but adding that he's a great representative for Germany.

It was their first in-person meeting since Merz, leader of Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union party, won a parliamentary vote to become chancellor last month following an election in February.

Merz brought a gift for Mr. Trump to the White House — an original copy of the birth certificate belonging to Mr. Trump's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, in German and in English.

Mr. Trump's 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union are set to take effect July 9. The EU, which includes Germany, has said it's preparing "countermeasures" to hit back. The 50% tariffs were set to start June 1, but Mr. Trump delayed the heavy tariffs after speaking with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Twenty-seven nations make up the EU.

The Trump-Merz meeting also comes hours after the president signed a proclamation Wednesday banning foreign nationals from a dozen countries, including Afghanistan and Haiti.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump said he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about tariffs and trade for roughly 90 minutes Thursday morning. The president told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he's accepted Xi's invitation to visit China, and will go there with first lady Melania Trump "at a certain point."