TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tensions between the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, are escalating. The relationship between the two figures is becoming increasingly heated. Interestingly, Musk and Trump used to praise each other.
Trump threatened to terminate government contracts with Musk's companies, while Musk suggested that Trump should be impeached.
The trouble began when Musk criticized the tax cuts and the spending bill proposed by Trump. Initially, President Trump chose to remain silent even though Musk was actively campaigning against the bill. Musk believed that the bill would increase the national debt by up to US$36.2 trillion.
On Thursday, Trump finally spoke up and told reporters in the Oval Office that he was "very disappointed" with Musk's behavior. "I am very disappointed because Elon Musk understands the ins and outs of this bill better than almost everyone here, better than all of you," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
For his part, Musk denied knowing about the bill as stated by Trump. "Wrong, I was never shown this bill, not once, and it was passed in the middle of the night so quickly that almost no one in Congress could read it!" he stated in a post on X.
The feud between Trump and Musk is intensifying. Both of them are launching attacks on their respective social media accounts. Below is the timeline of the open feud between Trump and Musk on social media as quoted from the Independent website on June 7, 2025:
At 13:31 Washington time, June 3, 2025
Musk wrote on his X account. "Sorry, but I can't take it anymore. This massive, outrageous, and full of nonsense Congressional spending bill is a vile atrocity. Shame on those of you who voted for it: you know you're wrong. You know it."
Then Musk added, "This will increase the already massive budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden the American people with an incredibly unsustainable debt."
Two days later, the relationship between the two of them started to heat up.
Midday, June 5, 2025
In the president's office in the Oval Office, Trump expressed his deep disappointment with Musk's comments.
"Elon understands the internal discussions about this bill better than almost everyone sitting here," Trump told reporters. "Elon and I have a good relationship. I don't know if we will have it again."
Trump added that he would easily win in Pennsylvania without Musk's help.
From 13:44-13:57 local time, June 5, 2025
Musk changed the name of the bill and then asked his followers if it was time to form a new political party. The founder of Space X then posted a series of tweets on X including ones that asked, "Where are these people now?" in response to a screenshot of Trump's earlier criticism about the debt limit increase.
He then tweeted: "The Bad Big Bill will INCREASE the deficit to $2.5 trillion!"
This was soon followed by a new suggestion from Musk: "Is it time to form a new political party in America to truly represent the 80% in the middle?" This post is still pinned at the top of X owner's timeline.
At 14:16 local time, June 5, 2025
Musk stated that he would outlast Trump. Musk's statement was in response to Maga blogger Laura Loomer on X, commenting on the split within the Republican Party over the dispute between Musk and Trump, the billionaire said: "Oh and some things to think about as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I'll last over 40+ years..."
At 14:37 local time, June 5, 2025
Trump's attack from Truth Social. Trump said Musk is becoming more of a nuisance in a series of posts on his social media platform:
"I asked him to leave, I repealed his EV mandate forcing everyone to buy unwanted electric cars (which he already knew for months I was going to do!), and he's going CRAZY!" Trump said.
He then added: "The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to cut subsidies and government contracts with Elon. I'm always amazed that Biden didn't do it!"
At 14:48 local time, June 5, 2025
Musk responded. He retweeted Trump's comments about electric vehicles. Musk said: "Such blatant lies. Very sad."
At 15:10 local time, June 5, 2025
Musk accused Trump of appearing in the Epstein files. Musk tweeted, "Files related to the investigation of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have become a focus for Trump and his allies as well as right-wing media figures."
"Time to drop a massive bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That's the real reason these files weren't released."
Shortly after, he wrote,"Tag this post for the future. The truth will come out."
At 16:09, June 5, 2025
Musk will deactivate the spacecraft. "Given the President's statement on canceling my government contracts, @SpaceX will soon begin deactivating its Dragon spacecraft," he tweeted.
Another X user replied, urging Musk to,"Calm down and step back for a few days."
Musk replied,"Good advice. Okay, we won't stop Dragon."
At 16:06, June 5, 2025
Trump defends the bill. He wrote on Truth Social: "I don't mind Elon opposing me, but he should have done it a few months ago. This is one of the greatest bills ever presented to Congress. It's a record-breaking cost cut, $1.6 trillion, and the largest tax cut ever given. If this bill isn't passed, there will be a 68% tax increase, and things much worse than that. I didn't create this mess, I'm here just to fix it. This puts our country on the path to greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
At 16:11, June 5, 2025
Musk seems to agree that Trump should be replaced by the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance. Musk retweeted an X user who said: "President vs Elon. Who will win? I bet on Elon. Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him."
At 16:26, June 5, 2025
Musk brings tariffs into the fight. He tweeted: "Trump's tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year".
At 19:50, June 5, 2025
Musk said 'Cancel the bill'. Musk tweeted: "Contact your Senator, Contact your Member of Congress, Drum up America is NOT good! CANCEL THE BILL"
Last post for June 5
Trump Impeachment?
Elon Musk's last repost for today came from an X user, who said: "This is why the Republican Party is likely to lose in the House of Representatives in 2026, and then the Democratic Party will spend two years to investigate and impeach President Trump. Trump and the Republican Party in Congress must do it. We want budget cuts. We want institutions closed. We don't want big government."
Sita Planasari and Dewi Rina Cahyani contributed to this article.
Editor's Choice: Elon Musk's Wealth Plummets by US$34 Billion Due to Dispute With Trump
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
