Before the ‘big beautiful breakup’: Musk and Trump’s bromance

WASHINGTON – It may have been one of the most predictable breakups in history. But for a few brief months, US President Donald Trump and tech tycoon Elon Musk were inseparable.

Here are some key moments before the marriage of two huge egos imploded over

Mr Musk’s criticisms of Mr Trump’s

“big, beautiful” budget mega bill.

Jumping on stage

The world’s richest man literally jumped for joy when he first stumped for Republican candidate Trump on the campaign trail on Oct 5, 2024.

The South Africa-born Musk leapt in the air like one of his Space X rockets as he joined Mr Trump on stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the latter escaped an assassination attempt three months earlier.

“As you can see, I’m not just Maga, I’m dark Maga,” Mr Trump told the crowd, tipping his all-black “Make America Great Again” hat.

Mr Musk would go on to become the campaign’s biggest donor, spending nearly US$300 million (S$386 million).

‘Lil’ X’

Mr Trump sprung a surprise on reporters when he brought Mr Musk into the Oval Office for his first appearance before the media since his arrival in Washington.

Even more surprising was that

Mr Musk brought his young son

– named X AE A-Xii but more widely known as “Lil’ X” – later putting him on his shoulders.

“This is X and he’s a great guy,” said Mr Trump, as the boy picked his nose while his father boasted about his cost-cutting exploits with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

Tensions? What tensions?

There were already rumours of tensions between the hard-charging Mr Musk and other members of Mr Trump’s administration when the tycoon attended his first Cabinet meeting in February.

But Mr Trump moved to squish any suggestions of trouble in paradise. “Anybody unhappy with Elon? If they are, we’ll throw ‘em out of here,” said Mr Trump, jumping in after AFP asked Mr Musk whether the reports of strains were true.

The rest of the Cabinet then erupted into a round of applause for Mr Musk – just as they would do three months later when it emerged that he was stepping back from the role.

At another meeting, Mr Musk proudly wore a “Trump was right about everything” baseball hat.

Sleepovers

The president and the tech magnate seemed to spend most of their time together in the first feverish weeks of Mr Trump’s return to power.

They travelled together on Air Force One and his Marine One helicopter. Mr Musk slept over at the White House, where he boasted of once eating a whole tub of ice cream.

In a display of macho bonding, they also

attended mixed martial arts fights together

.

Mr Musk meanwhile proclaimed his loyalty on his social media platform X. He declared himself the “First Buddy” and said: “I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man.”

Tesla showroom

Mr Musk’s Tesla car company took a major hit from his bromance with the president. Mr Trump, knowing that a threat to Mr Musk’s businesses could drive him out of his role, decided to help out.

The president turned the White House South Portico into a pop-up Tesla showroom for Mr Musk, with a Cybertruck and a Model S parked outside. Mr Trump even

said he had purchased one

.

Two of his press aides were seen posing in the gleaming red car as recently as last week.

After the spectacular breakup, it was still sitting in the White House parking lot on June 5. AFP