‘Very disappointed’ Trump in stunning live break-up with US billionaire Elon Musk
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Visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (left) sat in silence in the Oval Officer as US President Donald Trump spoke about former adviser Elon Musk.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – Tensions between US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk exploded into public view on June 5, as the US leader said he was “very disappointed” by his former aide’s criticisms and Mr Musk hit back in real time on social media.
“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more,” Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after Mr Musk slammed his tax and spending mega-Bill as an “abomination”.
The world’s richest man responded by live-tweeting on his X social media platform as Mr Trump spoke on TV, saying that the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without him and slamming him for “ingratitude”.
In an extraordinary rant as visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sat mutely beside him, 78-year-old Trump unloaded on SpaceX and Tesla boss Musk in his first comments on the issue.
“I’m very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this Bill better than almost anybody sitting here... All of a sudden, he had a problem,” Mr Trump said when asked about Mr Musk.
The clash comes less than a week since Mr Trump held a grand Oval Office farewell for Mr Musk as he wrapped up his time leading the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency.
South African-born Musk, 53, hit back minutes later, saying Mr Trump’s claims he had advance sight of the Bill were “false”.
“Whatever,” he added above a video of Mr Trump saying Mr Musk was upset about the loss of subsidies for electric vehicles.
Mr Musk then ratcheted up the public spat even further, saying the Republican would have lost the election without his support. He was the biggest donor to Mr Trump’s campaign, to the tune of nearly US$300 million (S$385.7 million).
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” Mr Musk said on X. “Such ingratitude.”
Tesla shares fell sharply on Wall Street, down 8 per cent, after his comments, in a sign of the huge stakes for a falling out between the world’s richest man and its most powerful.
‘A little make-up?’
A wistful-sounding Mr Trump took reporters through the break-up with Mr Musk on live TV, in what at times sounded more like a therapy session than a meeting with a foreign leader.
Mr Trump talked about Mr Musk’s farewell appearance in the Oval Office
Mr Musk at the time was also facing reports of drug use
“You saw a man who was very happy when he stood behind the Oval desk, and even with the black eye. I said, you want a little makeup? We’ll get you a little makeup,” Mr Trump said.
“But he said, ‘No, I don’t think so,’ which is interesting and very nice. He wants to be who he is.”
Mr Trump said he could understand why Mr Musk was upset with some steps he had taken, including withdrawing a nominee, whom the tycoon had backed, to lead the Nasa space agency
Through it all, the visiting German Chancellor sat silently.
Mr Merz had prepared to avoid a repeat of the ambushes
At the centre of the bitter row is Mr Trump’s “big, beautiful Bill” on tax and spending.
The centrepiece of his domestic agenda, it aims to continue tax cuts from his first term – and could define his second term and make or break Republican prospects in the 2026 midterm elections.
Mr Musk however called it a “disgusting abomination”
A day later, the magnate called for Republicans to “kill the Bill”, and for an alternative plan that “doesn’t massively grow the deficit”. AFP
