On Friday May 30, President Donald Trump handed his close aide and “first buddy” Elon Musk a golden key to the White House, praising the work the tech billionaire had done for his administration.
“Elon gave an incredible service,” Trump said at the joint press conference with Musk. “There’s nobody like him.”
That event was intended to mark the end of Musk’s 130 days as a special government advisor, leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in slashing excess federal spending.
Although there had been some disagreements during Musk’s time in the role – the Tesla owner made it clear he was not a fan of Trump’s tariffs, for instance – the event seemed to mark a conciliatory end to their working relationship.
But there were rumblings: Musk, whose whole purpose at DOGE had been reducing federal expense, was deeply opposed to Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” fearing it would ramp up the national debt over the next 10 years.
While White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had successfully managed to spin their difference of opinion as an example of healthy debate for a couple of days, everything came to a head on Thursday June 5. A month later and the two billionaires are back to trading pot shots as Trump’s deadline to pass the bill looms.
Here’s a timeline of how the very public fight between Trump and Musk unfolded, which appeared unresolvable until Musk offered a grovelling apology six days later, only to then blow up again three weeks later.
Trump vs Musk: Minute-by-minute
1.31pm ET, Tuesday June 3: Musk attacks the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Writing on X, Musk says: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
He continued: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America [sic] citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
Two days later, things escalated dramatically.
12pm, Thursday June 5: Trump says he’s ‘surprised’ by Musk and ‘very disappointed’
In an Oval Office appearance with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said he was “very disappointed” by Musk’s comments.
“Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here,” Trump told reporters. “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore.”
Trump added he “would have won Pennsylvania easily anyway,” without Musk’s help.
1.44-1.57pm June 5: Musk renames bill, asks his followers if it is time to create a new political party
Musk posts a slew of tweets to X, in one of which he rebuts Trump’s point about Pennsylvania, arguing: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
In another, he asks, “Where is this guy today??” in response to a tweet of screenshots from the president’s previous criticisms of increasing the debt ceiling.
He then tweeted: “The Big Ugly Bill will INCREASE the deficit to $2.5 trillion!”
This is shortly followed by a new suggestion from Musk: “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?”
This post was still pinned to the top of the X owner’s timeline for several days thereafter.
2.16pm June 5: Musk says he will be around for longer than Trump
Responding to MAGA blogger Laura Loomer on X, who was commenting about the divide amongst Republicans over the fight between Musk and Trump, the billionaire said: “Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years…”
2.37pm June 5: Trump attacks from Truth Social
The president says that Musk was “wearing thin” in a series of posts on his social media platform.
“I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump said.
He then added: “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”
2.48 pm June 5: Musk hits back
Retweeting a screenshot of Trump’s EV mandate comment (alluding to the Big, Beautiful Bill scrapping a $7,500 tax credit for EV customers, which would impact Tesla), Musk said: “Such an obvious lie. So sad.”
3.10 pm June 5: Musk alleges Trump appears in the Jeffrey Epstein files
Musk tweeted: “Files linked to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have emerged as a point of fixation for Trump and his allies and right-wing media figures.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.”
Shortly after, he wrote: “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
4.09 pm June 5: Musk says he will decommission the Dragon spacecraft
“In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,” he tweeted.
Another X user replied, urging Musk to “cool off and take a step back for a couple of days.” Musk replied: “Good advice. Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.”
4.06 pm June 5: Trump defends the bill
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given.
“If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
4.11 pm June 5: Musk seems to agree Trump should be replaced by Vice President JD Vance
Musk retweets an X user, who said: “President vs Elon. Who wins? My money’s on Elon. Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him.”
4.26 pm June 5: Musk brings tariffs into the fight
Musk tweets: “The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year.”
The point echoes a warning issued by many of the president’s critics, from economists to pundits, but most notably his former presidential rival Kamala Harris.
7.50 pm June 5: Musk says ‘Kill the bill’
Musk tweets: “Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL.”
Last post of June 5: Impeachment for Trump?
Musk’s last repost for the day came from an X user, who said: “This is why Republicans will likely lose the House in 2026 and then Democrats will spend two years investigating and impeaching President Trump.
“Trump and the Republicans in Congress need to deliver. We want budget cuts. We want agencies shut down. We don’t want big govt.”
June 6: Trump shuns phone call to clear the air
The following day, West Wing aides briefed the media that the two men were planning a private phone call to clear the air, only for the president himself to tell reporters that he had no interest in speaking to the man who had donated at least $288m to his election campaign just months earlier, leaving their once-close relationship in limbo.
Trump told Jonathan Karl of ABC News he was “not particularly” interested in talking to Musk and said to Dana Bash of CNN: “I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem.”
3 am June 11: Musk seeks reconciliation?
With Trump and his administration subsequently shifting focus to the Los Angeles anti-ICE protests, the tech boss unexpectedly extends an olive branch.
“I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week,” Musk wrote on X in the small hours of the morning. “They went too far.”
4 pm June 28: Megabill disagreement erupts again
After several weeks of quiet, in which Musk returned to his businesses and the president turned his attention towards Los Angeles and joining Israel’s offensive against Iran, the two egos clashed again when Trump’s bloated, 940-page “Big, Beautiful Bill” made its way to the Senate.
“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!” Musk wrote on X.
“Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”
4 pm June 30: Musk pledges to support primary opponents of Republicans who back bill
After the president’s signature bill narrowly passed the Senate 51-49, it was subjected to a marathon “vote-a-rama” in which lawmakers tabled amendments seeking to modify a legislative package many feared went too far in cutting welfare programs while cranking up the national debt, a particular concern of Musk’s.
“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” the world’s richest man posted.
“And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
1am July 1: Trump suggests DOGE investigate Musk subsidies with veiled threat to send him ‘home to South Africa’
While the president was largely preoccupied with keeping Republican “grandstanders” in line as the Senate voting progressed, he finally snapped and went after Musk on Truth Social in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
“Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate,” Trump huffed.
“It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa.
“No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
