Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s bromance was bound to implode. Like all great love stories, the friendship between the Tesla CEO and the US president began passionately.
“I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, as their relationship kicked off.
The US President brought in the tech entrepreneur at the start of his second term to streamline operations – which Musk did with relish as part of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The pair remained chums for months following Trump’s electoral success, until friction emerged over his planned bill on tax cuts and spending. By June, Trump and Musk were full-on feuding.
The fallout over the ‘Epstein files’ has continued to add fuel to the fire. Here’s a breakdown of the drama that has unfolded so far:
May 28
Musk comes out against Trump’s planned bill on tax cuts and spending: something that only narrowly passed back in May. Estimates suggest that it will increase the US’s budget deficit by around $600bn next year.
Musk told reporters he was “disappointed” in it (though Trump himself later admitted he was “not happy about certain aspects” of it).
May 29
In a not-so-shock move, Musk announced that he would now be leaving the Trump administration for good. The reason? His DOGE cost-cutting mission had apparently fulfilled its purpose. But the public disagreement with Trump might have had something to do with it too.
At this point, the relationship between the two was still cordial. “I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk wrote on X. “Elon is terrific!” Trump responded.
May 30
Shock horror! Trump and Musk part ways – seemingly amicably. Musk attended the announcement while sporting a black eye, praised Trump’s Oval Office decor and was given a commemorative gold key.
He also dismissed reports that he’d taken vast quantities of drugs during his time advising Trump, allegedly consuming vast quantities of ketamine, magic mushrooms and ecstasy during his time in power.
During the briefing, Trump confirmed that he was “not really leaving”, and that he would continue to go “back and forth” to the White House.
June 2
Trump comes out swinging about his new bill. In a post on his network Truth Social, he wrote that “many false statements” were being made about it, and called it a “big, beautiful bill.”
June 3
Musk snaps. In a post on X, he attacks the legislation, calling it a “disgusting abomination” and a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled” piece of work. “Shame on those who voted for it,” he added. “You know you did wrong.”
June 4
Things really heat up from there. At 13.57 local time, Musk takes to X to call for a new spending bill that "that doesn't massively grow the [budget] deficit and increase the debt ceiling.” An hour later, he’s canvassing his followers for support.
“Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT okay!”
June 5
Musk is still on X, retweeting old posts from Trump (from 2012 and 2013) where he criticises government spending.
For his part, Trump tells reporters during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore.” He adds that Musk is upset about the planned cuts to subsidies for electric vehicles (Musk owns Tesla and Space X).
Things escalate from there. Musk takes off on an X rampage. He responds to Trump’s assertions about subsidies in real time, writing, “Whatever… there has never been legislation that [sic] both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!”
Back in the Oval Office, Trump replies that Musk knew "every aspect of the bill.” Adding insult to injury, he adds: “I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Musk claps back, saying that Trump’s claims were “false. This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no-one in Congress would even read it!"
"Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” he writes, adding "Such ingratitude".
Trump, long-provoked, finally snaps back on Truth Social. “Elon was ‘wearing thin’, I asked him to leave,” he writes, adding that Musk “went CRAZY.”
"The easiest way to save money in our Budget," he says in another post, "is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts".
Musk writes back, calling it an “obvious lie”. Going one step further, he also alleges that Trump was “in the Epstein files”: documents collected in the case against the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Musk didn’t provide any proof about this, and Trump did not address it. However, he does continue to rail against Trump, writing that his bill would "cause a recession in the second half of this year" and appearing to endorse calls to impeach him. He has since deleted the post,
June 6
The relationship between the two does appear irreparably fractured. In an interview with ABC News, Trump calls Musk “the man who has lost his mind” and says he is “not particularly interested” in talking to him – despite reports that they were due to speak on the phone later that day.
CBS also reports that Trump was thinking about selling his red Tesla, which he reportedly bought to help promote Musk’s company – and which had been parked outside the White House for weeks.
“I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem,” Trump tells CNN later, adding to CBS News's Robert Costa that he was “totally” focussed on policy rather than Musk.
For his part, Musk appears to have gone quiet.
June 8
The pair have not publicly made up but is there a truce on the cards?
Elon Musk has started to share President’s Trump’s views again in response to the riots and protests going on in Los Angeles.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2025
He also posted a photo of a protestor waving a Mexico flag with the caption: “This is not ok.”
Elon Musk’s dad has waded in on the issues between his son and the President.
Elon Musk’s father said the public fight between his son and the president was brought on because both men are “tired and stressed” and have too much going on.
In an interview with the Izvestia newspaper in Russia while on a trip in Moscow, he said the fight would “be over tomorrow” and was “just a small thing”.
He said: "You know they have been under a lot of stress for five months - you know - give them a break. They are very tired and stressed so you can expect something like this."
"Trump will prevail - he's the president, he was elected as the president. So, you know, Elon made a mistake, I think. But he is tired, he is stressed."
June 11
By June 11, it looked like peace was on the horizon. Musk posted on X: “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2025
However, speculation arose whether Musk’s decline in net worth had contributed to his apology.
On June 5, the Tesla CEO lost $34 billion. When the stock market closed at the end of the day, Tesla shares were valued at $284.68, down from $322.52 just that morning.
July 1
The fallout picked up steam on July 1, when Trump told reporters that he would look into the possibility of deporting Elon Musk.
This time, Musk restrained from biting back. “So tempting to escalate this,” he said on X. “So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now.”
So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2025
July 8
On July 8, Musk yet again stepped into the Epstein discourse. He posted on X: “How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?”
The post followed the release of a Justice Department memo stating that no “further disclosure” on the Epstein case “would be appropriate or warranted”. It came after Pam Bondi, Trump’s Attorney General, teased the release of “a lot of names, a lot of information” relating to the case in February.
Musk continued to commentate on the matter in the following days. On July 13, he responded to a post on X: “Seriously. He [Trump] said ‘Epstein’ half a dozen times while telling everyone to stop talking about Epstein. Just release the files as promised.”
July 17
The Tesla CEO went on another rampage about the Epstein files on July 17. After Trump said that the saga was a “hoax”, Musk wrote: "Wow I can’t believe Epstein killed himself before realizing it was all a hoax."
Musk also asked questions to his AI chatbot Grok, such as whether the US government holds electronic records of who visited Epstein’s private island. Grok said yes.
Why was the plane called the Lolita Express? How old was Lolita in Nabokov’s book?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2025
Research throughly to find the complete lists of who else was on the plane during Trump’s 7 flights?
In one post, Musk prodded why Epstein’s former jet was referred to as the “Lolita Express,” alluding to the relationship between a man and a 12-year-old girl in Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel.
“Why was the plane called the Lolita Express? How old was Lolita in Nabokov’s book?” Musk asked on X. “Research [thoroughly] to find the complete lists of who else was on the plane during Trump’s 7 flights?”
July 18
On July 18, Musk seemed to change gears. Following a Wall Street Journal article that described a birthday card that appeared to be signed by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday, Musk rushed to Trump’s defense.
According to the Journal, Trump wrote: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” The article states that the message is next to a drawing of a naked woman.
Trump denied writing the letter and filed a lawsuit for $10bn over the claims.
Musk appeared to believe him. “It really doesn’t sound like something Trump would say tbh,” he wrote on X.
It really doesn’t sound like something Trump would say tbh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2025
Musk also retweeted Grok’s analysis of the letter. “Most likely fake. The letter's cryptic, third-person script doesn't match Trump's direct style or known handwriting (he uses Sharpie notes).
“No photo for signature verification, and allies confirm it's uncharacteristic. WSJ claims DOJ review, but timing amid Epstein file controversy raises doubts. Trump’s strong denial and lawsuit threat support this.”
