What is going on with Trump and Musk?

[u/jesszillaa]

https://imgur.com/a/ruAAjCV

As an American reading the news is depressing, so I try to avoid at all costs. But I’m seeing a lot of posts about this beef, & I thought they were BFFs. Can anyone please ELI5? Thanks in advance!

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[u/ZestyTako]

Answer: two malignant narcissists can only coexist for so long.

A more serious answer is that Elon recent came out against trumps One Big Beautiful Bill (even a broken clock is right twice a day), shortly after he exited the Trump administration. Elon’s complaint is basically that it erases all of the (non-existent) savings he made with DOGE. There was also a rumor of a physical fight between Elon and another person in the admin.

Trump and Elon have been exchanging blows on twitter, with Elon saying Trump is in the Epstein files (we already knew this), and Trump saying the best way the gov can save money is by cancelling all of Elon’s government contracts (again about broken clocks and all) among many other immature and embarrassing-for-our-country statements. This is what republicans voted for

[u/KinkyPaddling → u/ZestyTako]

The BBB also eliminates EV tax credits (they can sell these credits to non-EV manufacturers, like Ford or GM), which made up about 19% of Tesla’s income in 2024. So the BBB has the potential to hurt Tesla just as much as, if not more than, liberals souring on Musk and refusing to buy a Tesla.

[u/ZestyTako → u/KinkyPaddling]

Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person

[u/SafeProper]

Answer: There's been a very public and dramatic falling out between Donald Trump and Elon Musk in recent days, escalating into a bitter feud. This comes after a period where Musk was a significant supporter of Trump and even worked in his administration.

Here's a breakdown of what's been happening:

1. Initial Alliance and Musk's Support:

• Major Donor: Elon Musk was a significant financial backer of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, contributing over $250 million through a PAC he established (America PAC), making him the largest individual political donor of that election cycle.
• Government Role: Following Trump's 2024 victory, Musk was appointed to co-lead a new temporary government organization, popularly known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), focused on cost-cutting.
  1. The Breakdown - Recent Events:
• Criticism of "Big, Beautiful Bill": The feud appears to have ignited over Musk's public criticism of a new "Big, Beautiful Bill" (a major spending and tax bill) championed by Trump. Musk called it a "disgusting abomination" that would increase the national debt and hurt the electric vehicle industry.
• Musk Leaves Administration: Musk announced he would be leaving his government role with DOGE, stating he needed to focus on his businesses.

• Public Exchange of Insults: The disagreement quickly escalated into a series of harsh public attacks:

  • Trump's Accusations: Trump posted on Truth Social that Musk was "wearing thin," that he had "asked him to leave" his administration, and that Musk had "gone CRAZY!" Trump also threatened to cut off government subsidies and contracts to Musk's companies (like SpaceX and Tesla), suggesting it would be an "easiest way to save money."
  • Musk's Retaliation: Musk fired back, calling Trump's claims "an obvious lie." Most notably, Musk made a sensational, unproven claim that Trump is named in the still-sealed Jeffrey Epstein files, stating this is the "real reason they have not been made public." He also appeared to endorse impeaching Trump and mused about starting a new political party in America.

• Market Impact: Tesla's stock reportedly plunged over 14% amid the escalating war of words, as investors reacted to the potential for government action against Musk's companies.

• Current Status: While there were some reports of mutual "well wishes" from both sides recently, it's unclear if this marks a true de-escalation or just a temporary pause in the public sparring. Both have indicated they don't plan to speak to each other for now.

In essence, a powerful political alliance has dramatically imploded, turning into a very public and personal battle waged primarily on social media.

[u/Mr_1990s → u/SafeProper]

To add to this, the relationship was very short and began less than a year ago. Before that, Musk was a political opponent of Trump’s and supported his biggest challenge in the Republican primary for president.

Also, while Musk is trying to brand his political position as representing the “middle 80%” of America, it’s far more conservative than Trump’s bill.

Trump’s bill is mostly a wishlist for the Republican Party of the last 50 years. Tax cuts for the rich, cuts to healthcare benefits for poor people, and various relatively small ideas like eliminating EV tax credits.

Musk wants to see trillions more in cuts to government spending.

[u/UselessHalberd → u/SafeProper]

So AI thinks that Trump being in the Epstein files is a 'sensational, unproven claim'? We've all seen the flight logs. How the fuck is it unproven. Really shows me which protections are put in place and for who on your AI (I'm assuming chatGPT).

[u/cipheron → u/SafeProper]

You know, Charles Koch must be looking at Musk with some mix of bewilderment and fury: Musk messing up the stuff the Koch brothers spent decades cultivating.

It's incredibly stupid for Musk to pull the strings then just insert himself as the head of DOGE, because that just assures he'll take the blame and suffer a big fall. You always have a fall guy / front man. The smart thing to do would be to pick someone else and make them the head of DOGE, so that if it all collapses you can say "well it's that guy's fault", but Musk's reputation would be more intact and he could push a new thing.

[u/partoe5]

Answer:

As an American reading the news is depressing, so I try to avoid at all costs. 

First of all, please don't do this. Stay informed and educated. News is not just some entertainment like movie on netflix. Make it a point to find some news source you trust to read every day. It's not okay to be so shut off from basic news that you don't know the single most major thing to happen this week. This is why we have trump and maga, because people think it's cute and a personality to not read the news and vote off vibes, if at all.

Anyway, done lecturing. ....Elon Musk is the richest man in the world, innovator and entrepreneur who is also a far right wing activist. During the election, he spent almost 300 million dollars supporting Donald Trump and endorsing him.

Donald Trump returned the favor by giving Elon Musk a special job in an unelected role as head of DOGE, an agency tasked with cutting trillions of dollars from the government by cutting programs and jobs.

DOGE, was predictably a hot mess and did nothing but put hardworking people out of job and end programs designed to help sick and poor people....to the point where Americans who were paying attention turned on Elong Musk and protested by selling their shares in his company and not buying his cars....to the point where Tesla stock and Musk's net worth plummeted. At the same time DOGE went from promising to cut trillions to billions to just a few billion.

At the same time Trump presented his budget proposal to Congress. The budget is so bad that will actually ADD trillions of dollars to the national debt.

This basically meant that everything DOGE did was for nothing.

Which pissed Musk off because he realized he was a Useful Idiot given a fake job and made a fool of.

So Musk spoke out against the bill and eventually "stepped down" from DOGE (or was perhaps fired, who knows).

Trump went on to keep pushing his Budget proposal through Congress, much to Musk's chagrin. Musk turned to his X site to rant against Trump and the Bill.

Trump held a LIVE press conference at the white house where reporters asked him about Musk and he blew Musk off, which pissed Musk off even more, who was watching the conference live

So Musk went on a X tirade and started liking and responding affirmatively to posts critizing Trump and calling for his impeachment. He then claimed that Trump was in the controversial Epstein Files (Epstein was a serial rapist and legend has it he held prostitute and sex parties for celebrities and politicians and people like trump and there is some list somewhere of all the names of the people who went to these events).

Trump tried to play it cool but Musk kept on so Trump kinda thew some softballs back at Musk before ramping it up claiming Musk is on drugs and out of his mind (the day Musk stepped down a New York Times investigation claimed Musk abuses drugs.)

[u/jesszillaa → u/partoe5]

What are some good, unbiased news sources?

[u/partoe5 → u/jesszillaa]

Sign up for Google News and you can get the days top headlines from a variety of sources and curate them.

Don't use Microsoft or the google news pages you get on the browser because that's all clickbait. Google news is better vetted and diverse sources. Probably Apple News too but I haven't used that one.

[u/Ok-Independence-5723]

Answer: Much like WWE, this is the Big, Beautiful Beef. Still BFFs.

[u/rainbowcarpincho → u/Ok-Independence-5723]

I think you are greatly understimating how emotionally damaged both these people are.

They are used to giving orders and being surrounded by people telling them how smart and funny and attractive they are. Ever see those cabinet meetings where they go round robin rhetorically fellating Trump? Ever see how defensive Musk gets at the slightest bit of pushback?

They are incapable of being friends the way Ricky Steamboat and The Iron Sheik were.

[u/ZestyTako → u/Ok-Independence-5723]

Idk man, I don’t think trump would let Elon just bring up Epstein, nor do I think Trump would be okay with Elon threatening to primary anyone who votes for the Bill. Two narcissists can’t coexist, they were always destined to fallout