--- title: "Trump Takes the Gloves Off and Shreds Elon Musk" description: "Billionaire Elon Musk's bromance with president Donald Trump has officially exploded into an ugly, spite-fuelled, mud-slinging grudge match." date: "2025-06-05" modified: "2025-06-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/trump-shreds-musk" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "doge" - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "white house" --- # Trump Takes the Gloves Off and Shreds Elon Musk ![Billionaire Elon Musk's bromance with president Donald Trump has officially exploded into an ugly, spite-fuelled, mud-slinging grudge match.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Billionaire Elon Musk's bromance with president Donald Trump has [officially exploded]() into an ugly, spite-fuelled, mud-slinging grudge match of epic proportions. The feud, which has been simmering for months now, boiled over publicly this month after Musk excoriated Trump's so-called "big, beautiful bill" as a "[disgusting abomination]()," and openly [declared war]() on any Republican willing to support it. In [characteristically rambling remarks]() from the Oval Office on Thursday, the president tore into his former number one ally, cementing the bitter end of their relationship. "Look, Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump said. "I don't know if we will anymore." Meanwhile, Musk took to his social media platform to air even more of his own grievances. "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," Musk claimed. "Such ingratitude," he added resentfully. The president had some ideas as to why "Elon did a 180," as House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) [put it]() in remarks to reporters on Wednesday. "Elon's upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles," Trump said, referring to tax incentives that have greatly lowered the vehicle prices for consumers in the past. His bill is [expected to roll back]() a suite of Biden-era policies that were designed to cut emissions and boost EV sales. Now that Musk has dragged the brand of his EV maker Tesla through the mud, with [sales plummeting](), the bill could exacerbate the company's [ongoing crisis](). "You know, they're having a hard time, the electric vehicles, and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidies, and Elon knew this from the beginning," Trump said. Trump also pointed to his administration throwing Musk's personal pick, SpaceX space tourist and billionaire Jared Isaacman, under the bus, officially [rescinding his nomination]() as NASA's next administrator. Musk "recommended somebody that I guess he knew very well to run NASA, and I didn't think it was appropriate," Trump said. Isaacman "happened to be a total Democrat," Trump added, seemingly trying to reframe the narrative to justify a move that has largely been seen as retribution against Musk. "I can understand why \[Musk\] is upset," the president offered. The rocky, on-and-off-again relationship flourished into a full-blown bromance throughout Trump's election campaign and first semester in office. But the two enormous egos eventually proved far too big to fit into the same political sphere, with reports of [shouting matches]() in the halls of the White House showing Musk's welcome in DC was wearing thin. During his goodbye party in the White House last week, Musk [showed up with a black eye]() and a weird explanation, [triggering a flurry of speculation]() as to who could've thrown the punch. "You saw a man who was very happy when he was behind the Oval Desk, and even with a black eye," Trump told reporters today. The president allegedly offered Musk some makeup to cover it up, to which the billionaire responded, "'I don't think so,' which is interesting." That's despite Musk saying "wonderful things about me" at his goodbye party last week. "I'l be honest, I think he misses the place," Trump claimed. "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 actually become hostile," he added. "It's sort of Trump derangement syndrome." **More on the bromance:** *[The Trump-Musk Bromance Has Exploded Into a Million Spite-Fueled Pieces]()* ## 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]()