U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press event in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. Nathan Howard | Reuters Donald Trump and Elon Musk seemed inseparable not so long ago: attending events together, doing joint interviews and showering praises on each other. All that changed overnight.
Trump and Musk traded barbs in a rather public feud, with the U.S. president threatening to pull back billions of dollars in government contracts for Musk's companies, while the Tesla CEO suggested Trump could not have won the election without him. The hostilities began when Trump lashed out at Musk's criticism of the Republican tax-cut and spending bill, and quickly escalated into an all-out online brawl on Trump's Truth Social and Musk's X, with prominent businessmen, analysts and political names weighing in on the fight. Tech and political Billionaire Bill Ackman on Thursday urged Trump and Musk to stop fighting.
The two men should "make peace for the benefit of our country," Ackman said on X. The founder and chief executive of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, who had endorsed Trump a few months before the November election, said: "We are much stronger together than apart," with Musk replying: "You're not wrong." U.S.
Congressman Jim Jordan told Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Thursday that he hoped Musk and Trump would reconcile, while defending the budget bill. Others in Trump's orbit, such as former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who has clashed with Musk in recent months, were less conciliatory. Bannon said on his "War Room Live" show Thursday that Trump should sign an executive order to take control of SpaceX, through a national security mobilization law called the Defense Production Act.
"The U.S. government should seize it," Bannon said, adding that the administration should strip Musk of his security clearance and suspend all federal contracts to his companies, pending an investigation into him. Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican who has opposed Trump's budget bill and been critical of the president in the past, said on X, "The falling out was inevitable. You don't land rockets backwards or get cars to drive themselves by suffering fools gladly."
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban seemingly endorsed a proposal from Musk, who had polled followers on whether to "create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle." Former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang reposted Cuban, later pitching an "Independent '28 presidential primary" with participants including Mark Cuban, Jamie Dimon, and actor Matthew McConaughey. Eurasia Group's Ian Bremmer stated in a post on X that "Trump is more powerful than elon, but far less competent."
Tesla pundits Wall Street traders dumped Tesla shares, sending them down over 14%, wiping out a staggering $152 billion in the EV maker's market value. Dan Ives, managing director and senior equity research analyst at Wedbush said in a research note that the conflict was "jaw dropping and a shock to the market," creating major fear for Tesla investors. "Tesla's stock is under major pressure down 15% as investors fear that this Musk/Trump battle will stop their friendship and change the regulatory environment for Tesla on the autonomous front over the coming years under the Trump Administration," Ives said.
However, Ives added that the spat had not changed Wedbush's bullish view on Tesla, though it "clearly does put a fly in the ointment of the Trump regulatory framework going forward." watch now
