President Donald Trump said Saturday that his relationship with Elon Musk is likely “beyond repair” after a week of escalating public feuds, including political threats, deleted tweets, and market ripples. In an NBC interview, Trump slammed Musk as “disrespectful” to the office of the president and warned him against backing Democrats challenging GOP lawmakers.
"If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that," Trump said. "He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that," referring to Musk’s hinted support for Democratic candidates opposing the president’s domestic policy bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.
The feud, which has been simmering for weeks, took a sharp turn after Musk posted and then deleted several X posts critical of Trump, including a video allegedly showing Trump with Jeffrey Epstein and another calling a Trump comment an “obvious lie.” Musk also deleted a post threatening to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
Musk had previously been one of Trump’s most high-profile supporters, spending hundreds of millions during the 2024 campaign. But at the Qatar Economic Forum last month, he said he would likely “spend a lot less” on political campaigns moving forward — unless he sees a reason.
While Trump publicly downplayed the fallout, behind the scenes, he reportedly spent much of Friday venting about Musk aboard Air Force One, watching Fox News coverage, and discussing potential repercussions. He also floated the idea of reassessing SpaceX's federal contracts. “Only if it’s fair,” Trump said. “But we’ll take a look.”
The clash quickly spilled into markets, with Tesla stock and Dogecoin seeing immediate dips. A senior White House official even said Trump is considering selling his Tesla.
On Saturday, Vice President JD Vance said it was a "huge mistake" for Musk to "go after the president" during the newest episode of "This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von."
Musk responded to Vance’s comments on X with a single word: “Cool.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized the administration’s focus: “President Trump will continue cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. Passing the One Big Beautiful Bill is key to that mission.”
Whether this billionaire battle ends in reconciliation or full-blown war remains to be seen — but for now, the rift is deep, and the stakes are growing.