They endorsed each other publicly. They promised to "Make America Great Again". They were inseparable at the White House. But it lasted barely a few months. The Donald Trump-Elon Musk bromance is over, and it continues to implode in public, one social media post and one reaction at a time.
What started as a criticism of Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill", which offers tax breaks and spending cuts, has metamorphosed into an ugly exchange involving personal attacks. On Thursday, it reached its crescendo, taking a massive toll on Tesla stocks, which crashed 17%, wiping roughly $150 billion in market value.
As the Tesla CEO and US President traded barbs, there was one winner. A little-known crypto meme coin — Kill Big Beautiful Bill (KBBB). Crypto enthusiasts threw their weight behind the coin, which was launched via Pump.fun after Musk posted on social media a parody of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill billboard.
In no time, it touched a mammoth $53.12 million in market value, before crashing by 30% and then bouncing back to $38.22 million. According to a report in The Financial Express, the top trader earned over $94,000 in profits, while another turned a $4,599 investment into nearly $60,000.
The public feud
There were signs that Musk and Trump didn't agree on everything, but nobody predicted a fallout so public. After Musk called Trump's bill a “disgusting abomination”, the President hit back, saying, “Elon and I had a great relationship... I don't know if we will anymore.”
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, the 78-year-old President said he was “very disappointed in Elon”, suggesting Musk was suffering from “Trump derangement syndrome.”
And that triggered Musk.
The billionaire, who raised nearly $300 million for Trump's presidential campaign, made clear what many have been saying for a long time. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” the businessman said. “Such ingratitude,” he added.
Trump didn't hold back. He said the SpaceX CEO had been “wearing thin” during his time in the White House, adding he “asked him to leave.”
“Such an obvious lie. So sad,” Musk said, responding to Trump's claim.
And then came “the really big bomb.”
Trump “is in the Epstein files,” Musk said, adding “That is the real reason they have not been made public.”
“Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out,” he said. He was referring to the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
In the past, even while he was in the White House, Musk opposed Trump's sweeping tariffs that, many observers, said would also cause damage to the billionaire's businesses.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump-Musk public spat was "an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted."
"The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again," she said.
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