From Close Allies to Public Feuds: A Deep Dive into the Musk-Trump Relationship
On June 4th, Elon Musk publicly criticized a core bill promoted by the Trump administration on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), calling it a "vile, monstrous abomination." The world's richest man wrote, "I can't stand by and watch. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled congressional bill is a vile, monstrous abomination!" He even urged lawmakers to "kill the bill."
The following day, on June 5th, Musk escalated the conflict by posting multiple tweets attacking Trump, revealing shocking claims: "Trump is in the Epstein files."
From Close Allies to Public Feuds: A Deep Dive into the Musk-Trump Relationship
Less than a year ago, Musk was standing on stage at a Trump campaign rally, wearing a conspicuous black "MAGA" hat, joking that he was "dark MAGA." Trump, in turn, saw the tech billionaire as an ally and "one of his own" on the path to retaking the White House. In just a few months, the two went from a handshake to public sparring, a dramatic shift that underscores the fragility of their relationship.
As prominent figures in their respective fields, Trump and Musk have always had a dramatic relationship. From the political arena to the business world, they have alternated between mutual admiration and fierce opposition.
In the run-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Musk began to express support for Trump, and their interactions quickly became a focal point of public attention. On one side was the former president vowing a comeback, and on the other was the world's richest man spanning electric vehicles, space exploration, and social media. These two high-profile figures, known for their bold and unconventional approaches, quickly drew closer but eventually drifted apart amid a power and interest struggle.
As Axios noted, both strong-willed individuals "have egotistical streaks, believing themselves to be above conventional rules." Their alliance once gave the Republican Party a boost, but seasoned observers had doubts from the outset about how long this political "honeymoon" would last, and recent events seem to have confirmed those suspicions.
From Close Allies to Public Feuds: A Deep Dive into the Musk-Trump Relationship
Key Timeline
September 28, 2023: Musk appeared at the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, live-streaming the immigration situation and calling for the U.S. to "significantly expand legal immigration while speeding up approvals, and at the same time, crack down on illegal entries." Musk's actions demonstrated his support for Trump's immigration stance and simultaneously criticized the Biden administration's weak border policies.
May 24, 2024: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his presidential run during a Twitter Spaces live-stream hosted by Musk, but technical glitches interrupted the event. Musk had previously leaned towards supporting DeSantis over Trump, but DeSantis's campaign momentum waned subsequently.
July 13, 2024: At a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump faced a suspected assassination attempt (gunshots caused chaos). Minutes later, Musk publicly endorsed Trump's re-election for the first time on X. This marked Musk's formal alignment with the Trump camp.
August 12, 2024: Musk hosted a live conversation with Trump on the X platform, described by the media as "an extended campaign speech." During the live stream, Musk suggested that if Trump won, he should establish a "Government Efficiency Committee" led by Musk to cut bureaucratic waste. Trump called it a "good idea," and a week later, Musk posted that "I'm ready to serve."
October 5, 2024 (or later in October): Musk made his first appearance at a Trump campaign rally, wearing a black "MAGA" hat and telling cheering supporters, "As you can see, I'm not just MAGA—I'm dark MAGA." Musk's embrace of this far-right subculture within the Trump camp caused a stir in public opinion.
October 19, 2024: Musk announced through his "American PAC" that he would offer "daily $1 million rewards" to swing-state voters who signed a petition supporting freedom of speech and gun rights. This innovative move was seen as Musk using his wealth to influence voters and support Trump in unconventional ways.
November 6, 2024: Election Day in the U.S. Trump was projected by the media to win the election and become the "president-elect." Musk was invited to Mar-a-Lago to witness the victory with Trump.
November 12, 2024: Trump announced the formation of the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), to be co-led by Musk and Republican political rising star Vivek Ramaswamy. This independent advisory body aimed to cut government spending and streamline bureaucracy. Musk thus obtained an unprecedented informal position of power within the new administration.
February 20, 2025: Musk, as Trump's advisor and head of DOGE, made a high-profile appearance at the conservative annual CPAC conference. He took the stage with a red chainsaw, calling it a "chainsaw to cut bureaucracy," and vowed to slash government spending, drawing enthusiastic cheers from the audience. This symbolized the peak of Musk and Trump's joint push for a so-called "government slimming" agenda.
April 6, 2025: Reports indicated that Musk had privately urged Trump multiple times to abandon a new round of trade tariffs against allied countries, but to no avail. Trump's insistence on raising tariffs caused financial market turmoil, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting and trillions of dollars in global market value evaporating. The stock market downturn also affected Musk's personal wealth. Observers pointed out that this marked a rift between Trump and Musk, as their interests were not always aligned.
May 30, 2025: Musk attended a farewell press conference with Trump at the White House. The "Trump-Musk honeymoon period" appeared to end on good terms: Trump publicly praised Musk for making "revolutionary contributions to the country," calling him a "patriot" and "my friend." Musk thanked the president, saying he was "bowing out gracefully." However, on the same day of his departure, Musk privately expressed reservations about one of Trump's key bills.
June 3, 2025: Just days after leaving his government post, Musk publicly attacked Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" (a large-scale tax cut and spending bill) on X. "Shame those who voted for it: you know you did wrong!" Musk raged in his post. He accused the bill of being filled with unnecessary spending that would balloon the fiscal deficit and called for Congress to reject it. Musk's former support for Trump had now turned into direct confrontation.
June 5, 2025: When asked about Musk's comments by journalists in the Oval Office, Trump罕见地表现出不悦，直言自己对马斯克“非常失望”。“你们看，埃隆和我原本关系很好，”特朗普说，“但现在我不确定还能不能好了……他以前对我赞誉有加，倒没直接人身攻击我——大概下一步就该攻击了。不过我真的很失望，我可帮了他大忙。”特朗普暗示马斯克反对法案是因为其中计划取消电动车补贴、损害特斯拉利益。他还讽刺马斯克“离开我的团队后就开始想念了”，称很多离职官员都会“爱而生恨”——特马关系降至冰点。
From Estrangement to Alliance: Musk's Shift to the Right-Wing Political Arena
Musk's interactions with Trump were not smooth sailing before the second half of 2023. As early as during Trump's first presidential campaign and tenure, Musk had a complex attitude towards the real estate magnate and president: In 2017, Musk briefly accepted an invitation to serve as Trump's economic advisor but resigned in anger over Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Subsequently, the two publicly disagreed on several issues. Even in July 2022, Trump mocked Musk at a rally as a "bull artist"—at that time, Musk had expressed support for Florida Governor DeSantis and suggested Trump should "step down gracefully," which upset Trump.
However, starting in 2023, Musk's political trajectory underwent a noticeable change. That year, Musk gradually shifted from the liberal camp to a conservative stance. His criticism of the Democratic administration became increasingly sharp, frequently attacking President Biden and his policies on social media and in public forums. For example, Musk ridiculed Biden, saying "The real president is the teleprompter," and joked that "if someone accidentally knocks over the teleprompter, it will be as chaotic as the movie 'Anchorman.'" This analogy not only mocked Biden's public gaffes but also implied that, in Musk's view, Biden was merely a puppet controlled by his staff. Musk also accused the Biden administration of letting inflation run rampant, warning that "the U.S. is on a path to becoming Venezuela." He stated that he, who once "overwhelmingly supported the Democrats," had become increasingly disillusioned with the party, whose policies he felt were hijacked by "radical left-wing ideologies."
Musk's most direct dissatisfaction with the Biden administration was manifested in immigration, free speech, and industrial policies. In September 2023, Musk visited the U.S.-Mexico border to inspect the immigration surge. He appeared in a cowboy hat in the small border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, live-streaming the scene of immigrants wading across the river in groups. Identifying himself as a descendant of immigrants, Musk claimed to be "extremely pro-immigration," but he advocated that the U.S. "should significantly increase legal immigration quotas and speed up approvals to make it easier for hardworking and upright people to come to America; at the same time, it must stop those who enter illegally."
From Close Allies to Public Feuds: A Deep Dive into the Musk-Trump Relationship
This "two-pronged" approach aligned with Trump's immigration policy direction: Trump has consistently cracked down on illegal immigration while claiming to welcome "merit-based" legal immigration. Musk seized this opportunity to fiercely criticize the Biden administration's weak border control, stating that the current influx of illegal immigrants was overburdening border communities. During his live stream, he introduced Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez, who complained that border residents "felt abandoned." Musk's strong stance on immigration won applause from Republicans, signaling his growing alignment with the Trump camp.
Meanwhile, as the new owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Musk positioned himself as a "free speech" warrior, harshly criticizing the previous management team for banning Trump's account. Shortly after acquiring Twitter in October 2022, Musk reinstated Trump's account, which had been suspended for inciting the Capitol riot, and publicly invited Trump to return. Although Trump had not yet left his own "Truth Social" platform at the time, Musk's move was well-received by conservatives, seen as a strong counterattack against "big tech censorship of conservative voices." Musk also spearheaded the exposure of the so-called "Twitter Files," revealing how the Biden administration had pressured the platform to suppress sensitive content, thus supporting the Trump camp's allegations of "deep state" censorship. These actions made Musk a leading figure in the U.S. right-wing free speech movement.
As The New York Times reported, since Musk publicly took sides, users on the X platform have been "more frequently exposed to content from Musk himself and other right-wing accounts." Musk not only crafted his own conservative image but also subtly lent support to Trump's campaign.
From Close Allies to Public Feuds: A Deep Dive into the Musk-Trump Relationship
However, until mid-2023, Musk had not yet formally embraced Trump. At that time, the main Republican challenger to Trump was Ron DeSantis, who was in the spotlight, and Musk had initially favored the younger politician. In May 2023, DeSantis chose to announce his candidacy on a Twitter Spaces audio live stream hosted by Musk. However, technical glitches marred the event from the start, with intermittent audio and chaos, turning DeSantis's high-profile debut into a laughingstock. Although Musk ended the event awkwardly, his joint stance with DeSantis against Trump had already raised alarms for the latter. Trump privately ridiculed Musk, saying, "He claims he's never voted Republican, but then he tells me he voted for me. What a liar." During the summer of 2023's primary season, DeSantis's momentum waned.
Musk gradually realized that the Republican grassroots still firmly supported Trump. As shrewd as he was, he began to reevaluate his political bets for the 2024 election.
Reunited in the Political Arena: From "Pro-Trump" to Dark MAGA
As the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign season heated up in the second half of the year, Trump, despite being embroiled in legal troubles, dominated the Republican field. Musk made an unexpected yet logical decision: to throw his full support behind Trump's comeback bid. The catalyst was a sudden event—on July 13, 2024, Trump encountered a security emergency at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was hastily escorted offstage by Secret Service agents after reports of gunshots, though no injuries occurred. This incident enraged Trump's supporters and also struck a chord with Musk.
On the same day, Musk posted on the X platform, formally and publicly endorsing Trump for president. From that moment on, the maverick entrepreneur and the defiant politician began to fight side by side.
From Close Allies to Public Feuds: A Deep Dive into the Musk-Trump Relationship
Musk's embrace of the Trump camp was multifaceted. First and foremost, he opened his wallet to provide financial backing for Trump's campaign. According to data from the Federal Election Commission, Musk donated a staggering $238.5 million to pro-Trump groups through his "American PAC" super PAC. This astronomical sum made him the largest Republican donor in the 2024 election cycle.
Musk's contributions included a rather creative initiative: he launched an online petition calling on voters to sign in support of the First Amendment (free speech) and the Second Amendment (right to bear arms), promising to hold daily lotteries and give away $1 million to signatories in swing states. This unprecedented "money-dropping" campaign garnered significant attention. While critics argued that it was akin to buying votes with money, for conservative voters who felt oppressed by speech restrictions and gun control, this lottery was more like a celebration. As commentators noted, Musk used his wealth and influence to support Trump in a way that "broke the mold of American politics."
On the campaign trail, Musk also played a unique role. In August 2024, he invited Trump to hold an online live conversation on the X platform.
This marked Trump's return to a mainstream social media platform after being banned by major social media sites. Previously, Trump could only post messages on his own Truth Social platform, but Musk's invitation allowed him to reach hundreds of millions of users once again. The live stream was described by outsiders as "an extended campaign rally speech": Trump spoke at length about his policy proposals, rarely interrupted by Musk.
For Musk, he was happy to play a supporting role, allowing Trump to take center stage while also discussing issues he cared about. For example, Musk proposed during the live stream that if Trump won, he should establish a committee focused on "government efficiency," joking that he could lead it. Trump responded with a smile, calling it a "good idea" and even quipped that it could be named the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short (the same name as Musk's beloved cryptocurrency, Dogecoin).
A few days later, Musk posted on X: "I'm ready to serve." This statement seemed both an expression of loyalty to Trump and an indication that Musk had tied his personal reputation to Trump's political fate.
In the final stretch of the campaign in October, Musk took to the front lines to support Trump. That month, he appeared at several of Trump's large rallies, drawing significant media attention. One memorable appearance was at New York's Madison Square Garden: Musk, wearing a black "MAGA" baseball cap and a T-shirt with "Occupy Mars" printed on it, took the stage and introduced himself, saying, "As you can see, I'm not just MAGA—I'm dark, gothic MAGA." The crowd of Trump's staunch supporters erupted in applause and cheers.
This quirky "dark MAGA" declaration quickly became a trending topic on social media. The term "dark MAGA" originally was a fringe meme online, with far-right and apocalyptic overtones, emphasizing the use of more radical and aggressive means to "make America great again." Musk's public embrace of this label surprised and even unsettled some moderate conservatives, but it delighted Trump's most fervent base. Some analysts pointed out that Musk's move was essentially a gesture to the most extreme supporters within the Trump camp, positioning himself as a "comrade-in-arms" with them.
Musk's high-profile endorsement also included personally attending campaign rallies to vouch for Trump.
October 5, 2024: He appeared at a Trump rally in Iowa, wearing Trump's signature red "Make America Great Again" hat, drawing media focus. Musk said on stage, "As you can see, I'm not just MAGA—I'm 'dark MAGA.'" This statement became a topic of conversation, with some joking that the duo seemed like a bizarre reality show— "the president and his tech mogul sidekick." The Washington Post commented that Musk had risen to become Trump's "first buddy," appearing together in public and drawing significant attention.
Honeymoon in Politics: Advisory Role and Mutual Praise
After Trump won the 2024 election, his relationship with Musk reached its peak, dubbed by the media as a "billionaire co-governance" in politics. Trump not only frequently praised Musk in public but also created an unprecedented informal position for him. A week after the election, Trump announced the appointment of Musk to lead the newly established "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)," to work with incoming government officials to "cut spending and trim bloat." This position, so close to the presidential power center, was unparalleled for a businessman without electoral mandate.
Axios bluntly stated that this made Musk the "most powerful unelected person in American history."
January 20, 2025: Trump was inaugurated as president in Washington, D.C., for his second term. According to U.S. media reports, Musk also attended the inauguration, sitting in the guest section of the viewing stand alongside two other tech giants, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, who had once been political rivals of Trump in Silicon Valley. For Musk, this was his first public appearance as the president's "confidant" at a state occasion.
Shortly after the inauguration, Musk quickly took up his post, moving into the White House as a special advisor and appointed government employee to head DOGE.
From Close Allies to Public Feuds: A Deep Dive into the Musk-Trump Relationship
In the early days of Trump's administration, Musk became a prominent figure in Washington. He and Trump mutually utilized and praised each other, creating a brief but high-profile "honeymoon period." Trump never failed to extol Musk in every setting, calling him "incredibly smart" and "energetic," capable of revolutionizing government with a business mindset. During a White House cabinet meeting, Trump publicly thanked Musk in front of all officials for "making sacrifices for the country," calling him "a patriot and my friend." Musk, sitting nearby wearing a conspicuous red MAGA hat, nodded modestly in acknowledgment.
Recollections from attendees revealed that several ministers, who had initially been skeptical of Musk, also raised their glasses in praise of his streamlining efforts, thanks to Trump's lead. This collective praise for Musk was rare in Washington and became a topic of amusement for a while.
Musk's actual actions within the Trump administration also drew attention. He swiftly launched a series of "drastic" measures: demanding budget cut proposals from government agencies, freezing civil servant recruitment in some departments, and suspending funding for several federal projects.
It was revealed that Musk had boasted to Trump that DOGE could save the federal government at least $2 trillion in spending. However, while Musk fearlessly "cut" across multiple departments, by May 2025, he had only managed to reduce federal annual spending by less than 0.5%—equivalent to tens of billions of dollars, far from the $2 trillion target.
Nevertheless, Trump continued to publicly support Musk's efforts, hosting a farewell press conference for him at the end of May. In the Oval Office press conference, Trump and Musk had a pleasant conversation, expressing gratitude to each other in front of the cameras, turning what could have been a contentious departure into a display of mutual admiration and camaraderie.
However, signs indicated that Musk's situation in Washington was not as smooth as it appeared. Politico disclosed that the White House had mixed feelings about Musk. On one hand, Trump and some close aides highly valued the innovative ideas he brought; on the other hand, many officials privately complained that Musk was "unconventional and rule-breaking," often bypassing the staff system to publicly comment on policies and post未经审核的削减政府计划 on X, catching cabinet members and the chief of staff's team off guard. What worried some of Trump's allies even more was that Musk was increasingly becoming a new target for Democrats to attack the Trump administration—Democrats portrayed him as a "straw man" for the Trump government, using him to rally their own voters.
For example, in an important Wisconsin Supreme Court justice special election in the spring of 2025, the Democratic camp heavily criticized Musk for spending a fortune to influence the election, calling it a referendum on this "extreme billionaire." The Republican-backed conservative candidate lost by 10 percentage points, and some members of Trump's team attributed the defeat to the backlash against Musk. All signs indicated that Musk was a "double-edged sword," bringing opportunities while also sowing hidden worries.
Despite the noise, Musk and Trump still appeared close in public. The two not only frequently met in the White House to discuss agendas but also had some high-profile moments to highlight their "alliance." On November 19, 2024, Trump personally flew to Texas to accompany Musk in watching the SpaceX Starship launch. The image of the president and the richest man standing side by side, watching the rocket soar into the sky, quickly made the front pages of major media outlets. This was interpreted as a joint declaration of "technology making America great again" and also implied Trump's quid pro quo—supporting Musk's business endeavors.
From Close Allies to Public Feuds: A Deep Dive into the Musk-Trump Relationship
In February 2025, at the CPAC conference, Musk took the stage as a guest speaker. He held up a red chainsaw and joked to the audience, "This is our weapon against bureaucracy!" Interestingly, he was joined on stage by newly elected Argentine populist president Javier Milei, who even gifted Musk a chainsaw. Conservative activists in the audience waved flags with Dogecoin images and "Musk 2024" printed on them, cheering for the two. The Associated Press commented that this scene showed Musk had become a symbolic figure in Trump's conservative movement, "the world's richest man, who once supported Obama and Biden, now standing at the center of the American right-wing political stage."
Undercurrents and Divisions: From Trade Wars to AI Regulation
However, even the hottest honeymoon could not cover up the gradually emerging differences. In the spring of 2025, a series of policy conflicts began to test the Trump-Musk alliance.
The first and foremost was the China trade and tariff policy. As is well known, Trump's tough stance on China trade is his signature agenda, while Musk's Tesla is deeply rooted in the Chinese market, and their interests are not entirely aligned. In early April, Trump suddenly announced a significant increase in tariffs on many countries, including allies, citing the protection of American jobs and the reduction of the trade deficit. The news sent shockwaves through the global market: major stock indexes plummeted, and investor panic spread.
Since Tesla relies on the global supply chain and the Chinese market, when Trump's tariff "stick" was wielded, Musk's personal wealth also suffered a heavy blow—reports indicated that Musk's net worth once dipped below the $300 billion mark during the stock market crash.
Musk did not sit idly by. It was reported that over the weekend following the announcement of the tariff policy, he directly contacted Trump multiple times, urging the president to pull back from the brink and withdraw the decision to impose comprehensive tariffs. Musk emphasized that the trade war had already caused "turbulence and chaos" in the international market, and further escalation would threaten the U.S. economy and the interests of Trump's wealthy donors. However, Trump turned a deaf ear, not only showing no intention of backing down but also threatening to "add another 50% tariff" the following Monday.
From Close Allies to Public Feuds: A Deep Dive into the Musk-Trump Relationship
Musk's lobbying hit a wall. The Guardian commented that Musk's failed lobbying on tariffs was seen as "clear evidence of the growing rift between the two." This tariff dispute revealed an irreconcilable ideological difference between Trump and Musk on issues of nationalist economic policy: the former was determined to pursue trade protectionism, while the latter defended globalization and corporate interests.
Another potential point of contention was artificial intelligence (AI) policy. Musk has long been cautious and even wary of AI, repeatedly warning of its "existential threats" and calling for regulation to ensure AI safety. In contrast, the Trump administration tended to deregulate and encourage competition in the AI field. During Trump's 2024 campaign, he promised to completely dismantle Biden's AI regulatory framework, criticizing the Democratic administration's AI executive order as "shackling innovation and cramming leftist ideologies."
Trump stated that he would ensure AI development was "rooted in free speech and human welfare," implying that companies should self-regulate and minimize government interference. In stark contrast, Musk not only publicly supported stricter AI safety legislation but also, in a rare move, endorsed a California bill aimed at reviewing AI algorithms (although the bill was ultimately rejected). He was concerned that unregulated AI development could lead to ethical and safety disasters. It was foreseeable that in the cutting-edge field of AI regulation, the differences between the two were just waiting to surface. If Trump were to push forward with the abolition of AI safety measures, it would become a potential point of friction, with Musk likely to stand in opposition.
In addition to these issues, Musk and Trump also had differing views on fiscal deficits and spending. Musk, as an entrepreneur who advocates for lean and efficient operations, was naturally wary of government deficits and debt; Trump, on the other hand, focused on large-scale tax cuts and high spending to stimulate the economy, showing little concern for the federal debt.
In early 2025, the Trump administration unveiled its ambitious "Big Beautiful Bill," which included extending the 2017 tax cuts, increasing military funding, and boosting border security appropriations, significantly ramping up fiscal spending. Congressional independent agencies projected that this plan would add $2.4 trillion in debt over the next decade.
Musk was deeply concerned. In private, he warned Trump that this move would undo all the spending cuts he had painstakingly achieved at DOGE. As May rolled around and Musk prepared to step down from his DOGE position as planned, he continued to sound the alarm on the budget issue. He gradually made his unease public: frequently reposting deficit warning information on X and bluntly stating that "the U.S. is heading full speed towards debt servitude." Musk even hinted that if the government continued to increase debt without restraint, the U.S. would eventually face the dire consequences of fiscal.
The White House and Republican leadership initially tried to downplay these budding differences. Presidential Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in response to media inquiries, said that Musk's dissatisfaction with the budget bill was just "a minor disagreement within an overall harmonious relationship" and did not change the president's determination to push the bill through. Senate Majority Leader
