The CEO of Tesla and the President of the United States used to be friends, but they have fought words now and then. After Musk left the DOGE, they had a falling out.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump denied claims that he was destroying Elon Musk’s companies in the US. He said, “he wants” the billionaire businessman and all the other businesses in the US.
Trump had said earlier this month that he would cut off billions of dollars in federal government subsidies to Elon Musk’s companies.
On the other hand, Trump posted on Truth Social, “Everyone is saying that I will ruin Elon Musk’s businesses by taking away some, if not all, of the big government subsidies he gets.” This is not true! I want Elon and all the businesses in our country to THRIVE, and I mean THRIVE like never before! The USA does better when they do better, and that’s good for everyone. Every day we break records, and I want to keep it that way!
The fight between Trump and Musk
The US President and the CEO of Tesla used to be friends, but they have had fights of words from time to time. After Musk left the Department of Government Efficiency, they had a falling out.
Trump threatened Musk after the world’s richest man criticised the President’s “big beautiful bill” again. The Senate passed the bill by a small margin. If it becomes law, it will end subsidies for buying electric cars. This has helped Tesla, the biggest EV maker in the US, so far.
Trump told reporters, “He’s upset that he’s losing his EV mandate and … he’s very upset about things, but he can lose a lot more than that.”
Many people were shocked by the fight between Trump and Musk because Musk was once the President’s biggest supporter, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to help him win a second term in the White House.
Musk has said many times before that government subsidies should be cut, but Tesla has received billions of dollars in tax credits and other policy benefits because it works in clean transportation and renewable energy.
Musk has said many times that government subsidies should be cut, but Tesla has benefited from the billions of dollars in tax credits and other policy benefits because it works in clean transportation and renewable energy.
A few days later, Musk said he was starting a new political group called the “American Party.” He said the party was started to give Americans back their “freedom.”
Republicans were worried that the on-and-off fight between Trump and Musk could hurt their chances of keeping their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections
Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, also responded to Musk’s criticism of the “big beautiful bill” by saying, “I’ll take care of” the country’s money.
The fight could hurt Musk’s whole business empire, but Tesla, which is where most of his money comes from, could be hurt the most. Musk’s company is putting a lot of money on the success of its new robotaxi program, which is now being tested at its headquarters in Austin, Texas.
The US Transportation Department, which sets rules for how cars are made, will have a big say in whether Tesla can make a lot of robotaxis without steering wheels and pedals.
Tesla gets regulatory credits for selling electric vehicles (EVs), and it has made almost $11 billion by selling those credits to car companies that can’t follow the strict rules about vehicle emissions.
SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk, also has about $22 billion in federal contracts.
