Elon Musk has deleted a controversial tweet in which he alleged that Donald Trump was “in the Epstein files”.
On Thursday, the tech entrepreneur claimed without providing evidence that the US president appears in documents into the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Trump, whose administration promised to release the dossier, rejected Mr Musk's allegations, telling ABC News that the world’s richest man has "lost his mind".
It comes after Mr Musk touted the idea of forming a new party in the United States after his public fallout with Mr Trump.
The billionaire launched a poll on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, asking his 220 million followers whether or not the country needed a new political faction.
He suggested it would be the called the "American Party" and would rival the dominant Democratic and Republican parties.
Since the survey was posted on Thursday, 80 per cent of respondents backed the idea, with Mr Musk saying: "This is fate.”
Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
In recent days, Mr Musk has railed against the US president’s landmark “Big, Beautiful Bill”, which analysts warn could blow a $2.4 trillion (£1.8 trillion) hole to the country’s national debt.
Mr Musk claims the spending measures, which includes extended tax cuts, “undermines” all the work he did at the Department of Government Efficiency.
He backed a call for Mr Trump to be impeached and replaced by his own vice president JD Vance, just days after leaving DOGE.
Mr Trump claimed the only reason his former adviser had a “problem” with the bill was due to slashes to electric vehicle incentives.
He added that a review of Mr Musk's extensive agreements with the federal government was in order, including $22 billion (£16.2 billion) worth of Space X contracts.
Sources familiar with the situation have even suggested the president is considering selling a Tesla he bought.
The public spat has drastically hit Tesla shares, which closed down 14.3 per cent on Thursday, losing about $150 billion (£111 billion) in value.
