The Sundarban
One week ago, Elon Musk was standing in the Oval Office, receiving a large gold key from President Donald Trump.
It was Mr. Musk’s last day as a “special authorities worker,” and he was being lauded for his work aimed at slashing “waste, fraud, and abuse” as head of the newly shaped Department of Executive Efficiency, or DOGE.
Six days later, the two men – the richest person in the world and the leader of the free world – have been at each other’s throats on social media, hurling insults and threats in perhaps the most extraordinary political breakup in up to date American history.
Why We Wrote This
The falling-out between two alpha males made for astonishing social-media theater, but didn’t come as a surprise. From tariffs to the national debt, variations between the erstwhile allies have been hardly hidden.
The cease of the bromance was not surprising. The two men are similar in key ways – each mercurial, each alpha males, each larger than existence. Ultimately, there are no “adults in the room” who can take them away from their devices and from posting, unfiltered, without delay to the world.
In political circles, together with major capitals across the globe dealing with the Trump administration, it was riveting theater. For Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk, the attention is the level: They’re each showmen, attempting for the highlight, each for his absorb ends.
Heading into Thursday, the indicators of profound coverage variations have been hardly hidden. Mr. Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who had helped gas President Trump’s political comeback with funds and public appearances, has made clear he would not care for tariffs, which increase the value of manufacturing his Tesla electric autos.
Mr. Musk has also long expressed considerations about the massive federal debt – and was unhappy with the deficit spending embedded in the president’s signature “Giant Beautiful Bill.” The nonpartisan Congressional Finances Office estimates the legislation, now in the Senate after barely passing the Apartment, would add $2.4 trillion over 10 years to the present $36 trillion federal debt.
By Tuesday, four days after the Oval Office lovefest, Mr. Musk had had adequate.
“I’m sorry, but I lawful can’t stand it anymore,” he wrote on X, the social media platform he owns. “This massive, outrageous, pork-crammed Congressional spending invoice is a disgusting abomination.”
He threatened to take down participants of Congress who vote for the invoice by funding their opponents in subsequent year’s midterm elections.
By Thursday, each men have been swinging away. Mr. Musk endorsed a social media put up calling for Mr. Trump’s impeachment. He also urged, with out proof, that the president’s name was in classified authorities paperwork about Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted baby sex offender.
Mr. Trump, for his part, took to his absorb social media online page online, Truth Social, with threats to cancel Mr. Musk’s considerable authorities contracts, together with along with his companies SpaceX and Starlink.
“The easiest way to save money in our Finances, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Mr. Trump posted Thursday on Truth Social.
Mr. Trump has also signaled plans to sell his red Tesla. In March, the president was hawking Tesla electric autos on the South Lawn in a makeshift showroom to back his pal. Tesla has taken a gargantuan hit to its sales and stock mark since December, as Musk opponents have shied away from the brand and Tesla cars and dealerships have suffered sabotage.
Experiences late Thursday that a Musk-Trump détente was in the works have been lawful as unsurprising as the explosion earlier in the day. By Friday morning, Mr. Trump was basking in clear jobs numbers and experiences that billions had come into the Treasury from tariffs. Republican lawmakers had rallied to the president’s aspect at a crucial time for his legislation.
At press time, Mr. Trump reportedly had no arrangement to speak with Mr. Musk, regardless of a document in Politico that a call was planned. Various allies are seeking to play peacemaker, together with billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
Because for each Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk, the feud carries risks. The president is juggling major home and global challenges, together with wars in Ukraine and Gaza and nuclear negotiations with Iran, and the public battle along with his erstwhile ally has been an embarrassing distraction. Mr. Trump and the Republicans also danger shedding the considerable funding the tech billionaire had promised for the midterms.
For Mr. Musk, the fight poses a threat to his trade interests, which are entwined in U.S. national security – particularly Starlink and SpaceX.
The place this clash of titans is going remains unpredictable. Nonetheless it’s safe to say, the legend is far from over.
