Musk had been hired as a “special government employee” to head the new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), controversially tasked with downsizing the federal workforce and slashing spending.
While he enjoyed some success in his mission, he was upset by Trump’s decision to open the spending taps in his bill, saying it was undoing his team’s work.
Musk exited the White House at the end of May, ending a turbulent 130-day stint in Trump’s team, just days after he said he was “disappointed” with the new Budget.
In a cordial public farewell to the man who appointed himself as Trump’s “first buddy”, the President said Musk would stay on as an adviser. He was handed a gold key to the White House.
But the simmering dissent went public last week when the pair began trading insults online, with Musk denouncing the President’s Budget as “a disgusting abomination” that would bankrupt the US.
The Tesla billionaire called on Americans to help “kill the bill”, which includes multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks and a boost to defence spending.
Trump was quick to hit back, claiming the Tesla billionaire had been irked by the legislation ending tax credits worth billions of dollars to his electric vehicle company.
Their spat rapidly intensified when Musk called for the President’s impeachment and claimed the Republican was “in the Epstein files” – the dossier of US Government information held on the late paedophile financier.
In response, Trump threatened to cancel US Government contracts with Musk’s companies, which include SpaceX.
By the weekend, Musk had deleted the worst of his tweets in an apparent sign that he was hoping to repair the rift.
Yet the damage was done. Trump declared his relationship with the South African-born tech tycoon was over and that he had “no desire” to mend it, accusing Musk of being “disrespectful to the office of the President”.
Trump also warned that there would be “serious consequences” if Musk switched his allegiance to the Democrats and funded rival candidates who would vote against the bill.
JD Vance, the US Vice-President, said Musk had made a “huge mistake” in picking a fight with Trump. Over the weekend, he said he hoped he would “come back into the fold”, but acknowledged that might be difficult after he went “nuclear” during the row.
Musk bankrolled Trump’s election run to the tune of US$250 million ($415m) and was rewarded with his “special government employee” role.
For months after Trump’s inauguration, Musk rarely left his side, travelling on Air Force One, moving into Mar-a-Lago and having the President babysit his 4-year-old son in the Oval Office.
On the night of the election, Trump declared of Musk that “a star is born”. Weeks later, the billionaire confessed that he loved the President “as much as a straight man can love another man”.
The messy breakdown of their bromance, however, had been heavily predicted.
Trump, who has now refocused attention elsewhere, including to the deployment of troops to the LA riots, recently told reporters he wasn’t even thinking of Musk. According to reports, he is considering selling or giving away the red Tesla he bought from him earlier this year.
Trump was “appreciative” of Musk’s apology, said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary.
“The President acknowledged the statement that Elon put out this morning, and he is appreciative of it, and we are continuing to focus on the business of the American people,” she told reporters.
Asked if the administration had started reviewing Musk’s government contracts with a view to cancelling them, Leavitt answered: “No efforts have been made on that front, as far as I’m aware.”
