--- title: "Elon Musk Reportedly Owes Donald Trump a Colossal Sum of Money" description: "Elon Musk reportedly still owes president Donald Trump an eye-watering $100 million out of the $300 million he committed to get him elected." date: "2025-06-02" modified: "2025-06-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-owes-donald-trump-money" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "doge" - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "tesla" --- # Elon Musk Reportedly Owes Donald Trump a Colossal Sum of Money ![Elon Musk reportedly still owes president Donald Trump an eye-watering $100 million out of the $300 million he committed to get him elected.]() *\Image: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images\* Billionaire Elon Musk reportedly still owes president Donald Trump an eye-watering $100 million out of the [$300 million]() he committed to get the reality TV star elected. That's [according to the *Wall Street Journal*](), which reports that now that the bromance between the two has seemingly ground to a halt, Musk isn't keeping the cash flowing. Trump's advisors said that the latest $100 million check hasn't arrived yet, in perhaps the most concrete sign yet of a widening rift between the two larger-than-life figures. Just last week, Musk [showed up at his own White House goodbye party]() with a mysterious black eye, the perfect symbol for a bruising couple of weeks marked by [heated exchanges and an alleged brawl](). Though Musk and Trump had an intense public friendship over the course of the election and the early days of the administration, the White House has increasingly been resorting to damage control to keep a raging Musk in check. Most recently, according to the *WSJ*, Musk became so incensed after learning of a meeting between Trump and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman — one of his [most reviled enemies]() — that the meeting was pushed back to appease him. Altman ended up never appearing at a planned public event with Trump, per the *WSJ*. Musk has maintained that his efforts to brutally slash government agency budgets were never taken seriously enough in Washington, while Trump officials have [mocked him]() for his childish demeanor and cringe humor. According to the *WSJ*, Musk's decision-making at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency frequently went behind the backs of Trump officials, forcing the president himself to [appoint Musk a babysitter](). Musk has frequently butted heads with key Trump appointees and was [reportedly furious]() about the president's plans to roll out extreme tariffs, which have caused endless chaos for the global economy. Last month, Musk also [turned against Trump's so-called "big, beautiful bill]()," arguing it was needlessly adding trillions of dollars to the deficit and "undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," [he told *CBS News*](). Prior to his departure, the mercurial CEO had cut down his time at the White House from up to seven days per week to just occasional visits. In short, there are numerous reasons to believe that the relationship has finally gone up in flames, bookending a turbulent couple of months. Meanwhile, Musk has gone on to lick his wounds. Tesla has seen sales and [revenues drop off a cliff]() in large part due to his embrace of far-right ideologies and [extremely unpopular]() gutting of the federal government. For his part, Trump has maintained that his relationship with Musk is as healthy as ever. "Elon is not really leaving," he said during Musk's goodbye party last week. "He’s going to be back and forth." That's hard to imagine. Musk once promised to [slash $2 trillion]() in government spending, a figure that appears to have been off by several orders of magnitude — and even that'd be a [charitable interpretation at best](). "Was it all bullsh\*t?" Trump recently asked advisers about Musk's failed plans to cut such a huge figure from the budget, as quoted by the *WSJ*. **More on Elon and Donald:** *[Elon Musk Trying to Figure Out Who’s to Blame for His Massive Unpopularity]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()