A man who was once close with billionaire Elon Musk warned President Donald Trump that the tech CEO is unforgiving and will do “everything” to hurt the president, even after the two seemingly made up.
“I’ve had my share of blowouts with Elon over the years,” Philip Low told POLITICO. “Knowing Elon the way I know him, I do think he’s going to do everything to damage the president.”
Low, a neuroscientist who founded the company NeuroVigil, experienced Musk’s grudges firsthand when he fired the Tesla CEO from the advisory board of his startup in 2021.
He claimed that Musk joined the advisory board for NeuroVigil, which builds a non-invasive brain monitoring device that can be used to detect neurological conditions. But then attempted to leave NeuroVigil’s board after starting his brain-implant company Neuralink.
Low fired Musk from NeuroVigil’s advisory board instead of allowing him to resign to prevent the tech billionaire from using his stock options to hurt NeuroVigil.
Low, who has known the tech mogul for 14 years, said he’s unconvinced that Musk has forgiven Trump for the verbal battle the two engaged in earlier this month across their respective social media platforms.
Musk had a bitter end to his time as an adviser and de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency after publicly criticizing Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” on X. Trump claimed he pushed Musk out for acting “crazy” and threatened to revoke his lucrative government contracts.
In return, Musk accused Trump of being named in the government’s investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. Trump has not been accused of any formal wrongdoing or charged with a crime related to the Epstein investigation.
Though the two had a bitter falling out on social media, they appear to have reconciled somewhat - something Low branded as “purely cosmetic” and transactional.
“He (Musk) has been humiliated,” he said. “The whole idea that Elon is going to be on his side and help woo Congress and invest in election campaigns for right-wing judges — Elon might do all of that, but deep down, it’s over.”
Indeed, Low is warning that Musk may use his influence to undermine Trump’s as a form of revenge.
“It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” Low said
“Elon has his own pattern of trying to destabilize companies. He wants to take over, and if he can’t take them over, then he tries to create a rival entity to compete,” Low said, though Low once noted Neuralink and NeuroVigil are not rivals.
“They were absolutely on a collision course, and I think that Trump tried to gloss over it by making it look as if he wanted Elon to be as aggressive as he was,” Low told POLITICO.
Musk used his finances to help Trump get elected last year and his influence to secure a spot in the White House temporarily. Low believes Musk could use that same influence and connections to threaten Trump politically.
“He doesn’t realize the battle that he has on his hands, and one way to cut the support away from Elon is to actually adopt some of the things he is for,” Low said.
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