After spending more than US$250 million ($414m) to help elect the President, Musk could just as easily fund campaigns against Republicans. He has called Trump’s domestic policy bill a “disgusting abomination,” and on Thursday attacked Republican congressional leaders on X, his social media company. (Musk could also withhold the final US$100m of his pledge to support Trump.)
Use social media as an irritant
On Thursday afternoon, Musk posted a poll on X asking whether it was time “to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle”. More than 80% of the nearly 2 million respondents so far have voted “yes”. And responding to a post suggesting that “Trump should be impeached,” Musk said, “Yes.” (It was not entirely clear whether he was agreeing with impeachment or with another part of the post.)
Drag Trump into controversy
After enjoying a close relationship with the President for months, Musk could now cause trouble for Trump by claiming to have inside information. On Thursday, without offering evidence, he claimed Trump’s administration had slow-walked the release of files on Jeffrey Epstein because Trump’s name appeared in them. “Mark this post for the future,” he wrote. “The truth will come out.” House Democrats quickly jumped on the post.
Use his companies to inconvenience the administration
Musk wrote that he would “immediately” decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which transports Nasa astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station. The threat prompted Steve Bannon, a Trump ally and one of Musk’s foremost critics, to suggest that Trump “seize SpaceX tonight before midnight” via executive order.
What Trump could do
Cut contracts with Musk’s companies
On his own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump suggested that ending the Government contracts with Musk’s various companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, would be “the easiest way to save money in our Budget”.
Last year, Musk’s companies were promised US$3 billion in nearly 100 contracts with 17 Government agencies.
Investigate Musk’s immigration status and drug use
Bannon called on Thursday for a “formal investigation of his immigration status, because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately”. Musk is a naturalised US citizen who was born in South Africa. Bannon also called for an investigation into Musk’s drug use and his efforts to be briefed on classified information about military plans involving China.
Revoke Musk’s security clearance
Bannon suggested that Musk’s top-secret clearance should be suspended during investigations into the tech billionaire. But Trump could also fully revoke Musk’s clearance, which Musk has as part of the government contracts involving SpaceX’s work with Nasa. That would make it very difficult for Musk to continue to work with the Government.
Wield the power of the presidency against him
Trump has a tremendous array of powers at his disposal, with the ability to sign executive orders punishing political adversaries and to direct agencies like the Justice Department to initiate investigations. He could end some of Musk’s pet projects, such as the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, as well as his embrace of white South Africans, a priority of Musk’s.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Written by: Kellen Browning
Photographs by: Eric Lee
©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
