End Of The Trump-Musk Love-Fest?

The unravelling of the relationship between the world’s most powerful man and the richest man in the world–US President Donald Trump, and Elon Musk comes as no surprise. From day one, a fallout between two strong-headed egoistic personalities was predicted by nearly every commentator.

What began as a love fest has soured dramatically in recent weeks. The question now is, will this split reshape politics and the tech-political nexus that had defined the first six months of the Trump Administration? What effect would this personal fall-out between two powerful men finally come to?

Spending Bill And Government Deficit

It began with a warm send-off, last week of the billionaire, just before he finished his term as the DOGE head. The Department of Government Efficiency was created to curb government spending and reduce the trillions of dollars of the US budget deficit.

According to analysts, the President could have easily extended Musk’s term if he wanted him to continue. Later, Trump said he had asked Musk to leave. The billionaires' veiled digs and sharp comments against the spending bill, which Trump calls the “big beautiful bill’’ have now translated to an open feud. Musk is furious over the bill, saying it has further enhanced the deficit to nearly $4 trillion. Musk believes that the growing US government debt is unsustainable, and action has to be taken NOW.

Musk has called the bill a “disgusting abomination’’ and lashed out at lawmakers who voted for it. “Shame on those who voted for it…You know you did wrong.’’ He went on a rant on X, saying ``Bankrupting America is not OK’’ and “KILL the BILL.’’

Trump, for a time, did not react in his usual style. But on Thursday, he turned Musk’s argument on its head by declaring:   “The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's governmental subsidies and contracts,” Trump posted on his social media website. Musk earns billions of dollars through government contracts each year. The funds sustain his SpaceX programs with generous government subsidies.  

Trump’s words were enough to plunge Tesla’s stock prices by 14 percent on Thursday evening. It could plunge further as the spat appears to be taking an ugly turn.

The gloves are off so far as  Elon Musk is concerned`` Without me, Trump would have lost elections,’’ Musk has declared. This is probably true as the tech-billionaire had spent as much as $291 million on Trump’s 2024 presidential bid.

Musk even agreed with a post that called for Trump’s impeachment and posted a picture of a younger Trump with the controversial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

While Musk will lose billions of dollars, the fall out could also affect NASA. He has threatened that SpaceX would shut down the Dragon spacecraft immediately “in light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts.”

The BBC reported, "According to SpaceX, the Dragon spacecraft is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth in addition to being able to fit seven passengers. It is considered crucial for transporting cargo and people to the International Space Station. It was a SpaceX Dragon capsule that helped return the two NASA astronauts who had been stuck on the International Space Station for nine months when a Boeing vehicle experienced issues."

The talk in the billionaires club is that Trump’s threat of doing away with the clean energy subsidies that the Biden administration had introduced to encourage electric cars has riled Musk.

What next?

The buzz in political circles in Washington is what happens next. Will Elon Musk, who had earlier funded the Democrats, be wooed back by the party? Will Musk use his money power to defeat Trump’s candidates in the US mid-term elections scheduled for next November? In the Senate, 35 seats will be up for grabs, while in the House of Representatives, all 435 will be contested.

Musk has also fallen out with the Democrats, and with the job cuts and emphasis on drastic reduction in government spending on social security, chances of him switching sides appear remote for now.

But he could fund several independent candidates who adhere to his views. Elon Musk is now proposing a new party. In one of his latest posts, he has posed the question.

"Is it time to create a new political party in America that represents the 80% in the middle?" Musk wrote and asked people to vote. After just over 23 minutes, about 260,000 people have already voted, with 84% saying "yes".

However, America’s experience with a third party has never worked in the past. In 1992, Ross Perot, a Texan businessman and philanthropist, tried to run as an independent but was roundly defeated.

Considering that the stakes are high on both ends, a kiss-and-make-up scenario cannot be ruled out. There will be attempts by business tycoons and friends of both Trump and Musk to get the two to resolve their differences and make up.