Elon Musk vs Donald Trump: What Went Wrong?
Elon Musk and Donald Trump were once close allies when Musk led Trump’s cost?cutting DOGE office and funded his campaign.
No one expected that the world’s richest man and a U.S. President would go from close friends to public enemies so quickly. Elon Musk, the famous businessman who founded Tesla and SpaceX, had supported Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign with nearly $300 million in donations. Trump had praised Musk, calling him his “first buddy,” and gave him a special role in the new government office called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This office was created to reduce waste and improve how the U.S. government works.
Musk joined the White House as a special government employee for 130 days. His job was to find and stop wasteful spending. He claimed to have helped save around $160 to $175 billion during this short time. But some people criticised his methods, saying they may have affected important government services. Musk completed his term on 30 May 2025 and left the position, while the DOGE office continues under other leaders.
The friendship broke after Trump announced a huge $4 trillion spending bill in May 2025. The bill included tax cuts, defence spending, border protection, and increasing the debt ceiling (which is like raising the credit card limit for the government). But one part of the bill made Elon Musk very upset—removing the electric vehicle (EV) tax credit. This credit gave buyers up to $7,500 back from the government for buying EVs. Musk warned that removing it would hurt clean energy progress and damage smaller EV companies like Rivian and Lucid. Even though Tesla may manage, Musk said it was a big setback for the whole green energy movement.
Trump said he removed the EV credit to cut “wasteful spending” and got support from oil and gas industries. Musk, in reply, started a strong campaign on social media. On 2 June 2025, he posted a meme on X (formerly Twitter) saying “Kill the Bill,” and asked his 220 million followers to call their senators and stop the bill. On 4 June, Musk continued his attack by posting memes, videos, and slides explaining why the bill was harmful.
Trump hit back by calling Musk “ungrateful” and even said the government might cancel Tesla and SpaceX contracts. This is serious, as both companies receive large amounts of money through government projects. Cathie Wood from Ark Invest reminded everyone that these contracts are worth billions. After the fight became public, Tesla’s stock dropped by 14%, though it later recovered by 5%.
Many people are reacting to this fight. Some leaders from the renewable energy sector said removing EV and solar credits could cause around 3 lakh job losses in Texas alone. In Silicon Valley, some people are supporting Musk for exposing wasteful spending, while others feel he is acting out only because his companies are losing subsidies. Musk has even said that he might start a new political party called the “America Party” for middle-ground voters, which could change U.S. politics.
This big fight is more than just a personal issue. It has raised serious questions—do billionaires have too much power in politics? And what does that mean for ordinary citizens?
