Deng Tong, Jinse Finance
In November 2024, Musk was featured in Time magazine. On the turbulent road to the election, Musk once called the shots in American politics - hosting rallies, directing government appointments, and setting the agenda for the next US president. Time once commented on Musk: "Standing next to him, even Trump seemed almost in awe. He is more of a companion than a boss, because the planet and its challenges are not big enough for him."
For details, please refer to Jinse Finance article: "Times Magazine: How did Musk become a "king maker" step by step? "
However, the two only had a honeymoon period of more than 100 days. Shortly after Musk left DOGE, the two suddenly fell out.
For more details, please refer to Jinse Finance article: "Musk is about to leave his unfulfilled ambitions DOGE"
What caused the two to become enemies? How did the quarrel between the two influential figures escalate? How does the outside world view this quarrel of the century? Will Musk return to the White House? Is Tesla facing a major crisis? What impact will it have on the crypto market?
1. Timeline of the escalation of the verbal war between the world's richest man and the super-knowledgeable king
The dispute began last week over Trump's "Big, Beautiful" bill, heated up on Wednesday and reached a fever pitch in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon. The following is a timeline of the escalating dispute between Jinse Finance and Trump.
Wednesday, May 28: Musk criticized Trump's plan for a new tax and spending bill in an interview with CBS News, saying he was "disappointed" with the legislation. Trump later admitted to reporters that he was "unhappy with some aspects" of the bill, but was "excited" about some aspects, such as tax cuts. Trump did not directly comment on Musk's remarks at the time.
Thursday, May 29: Musk announced that he would leave the Trump administration after his term as a special government employee ended. At this time, the relationship between the two was still very harmonious, and Trump even publicly stated: "He will always be with us, Elon is great!"
Friday, May 30: Musk appears at a White House news conference, where Trump heaps praise on Musk. Trump says Musk is "not really gone" and will continue to "come back and forth" to the White House.
Monday, June 2: Trump defends his "big, beautiful bill" in a post on the Truth Social website, claiming there have been "many false claims" about his landmark economic policy.
Tuesday, June 3: Musk again slams Trump's planned bill in a post on X, calling it "massive, outrageous" and "disgustingly ugly."
This marked a sudden escalation in the verbal battle between the two.
Wednesday, June 4: Musk called for a new spending bill "that does not significantly increase the deficit and raise the debt ceiling." Musk urged his followers to call on their representatives to oppose Trump's bill.
Thursday, June 5: Musk referenced a series of old Trump posts on X from 2012 and 2013 in which Trump criticized government spending.
Trump, speaking in the Oval Office alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said he and Musk "used to" have a good relationship but "I don't know if we're going to have that relationship anymore." He also said Musk was "unhappy" with cuts to electric vehicle subsidies in his planned bill because they would affect the billionaire's Tesla and SpaceX businesses.
Musk responded live from the Oval Office, refuting Trump's comments.
Thursday, June 5, 12:24 p.m.: Back at the White House, Trump tells reporters that Musk understands "every aspect of the bill" and says he is "very disappointed in Elon Musk."
12:25: “Fake,” Musk responded on X. “I was not shown this bill once and it was rushed through in the middle of the night with barely anyone in Congress reading it!”
12:44: Musk reposts old Trump posts on X, highlighting moments when the president criticized the U.S. budget deficit. "Where is this guy today??"
12:46: Musk responded to another user on X: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election." He then added: "How ungrateful."
13:44: Musk continues on X by claiming that the "Big Ugly Bill will increase the deficit to $2.5 trillion."
13:49: Musk quotes an old Trump post on government spending on X. He asks: "Where is the guy who wrote that? Was he replaced by a body double?!"
13:57: Musk asked in a poll on X: "Is it time to create a new political party in the US that truly represents the middle 80%?"
14:37: Trump begins posting on his Tumblr platform, saying Musk is "exhausted" so he's asking him to leave the White House and that Musk is "crazy."
Musk responded: This is a "blatant lie."
Trump continued in another post: "The easiest way to save money in our budget would be to end Elon Musk's government subsidies and contracts."
15:10: Musk claims without providing evidence that Trump was in the "Epstein Files." "It's time to drop the real bombshell, President Trump was in the Epstein files. This is the real reason why the files were not made public."
16:06: Trump posts that he doesn't mind "Elon betraying me" and will continue to defend his bill.
16:09: Responding to a suggestion that Trump might end government contracts with Musk's companies, Musk said he would "immediately" retire the Dragon spacecraft - a spacecraft capable of traveling to the International Space Station.
16:11: Musk appears to support impeachment of Trump while citing claims about the president by a conspiracy theorist who shared the Epstein dossier.
16:26: Musk posted a message attacking another signature policy of Trump - trade tariffs, saying that these policies "will lead to an economic recession in the second half of this year."
21:27: Musk appears to soften his stance, replying on X to another Trump supporter, billionaire Bill Ackman, "You are not wrong," who called on the two to "make peace for the good of our great country."
Friday, June 6: Trump describes Musk as "a man who has lost his mind" in an interview with ABC News and says he is "not particularly" interested in talking to Musk.
It had been reported that Trump and the tech billionaire would speak by phone later, but the White House told the BBC that Trump did not plan to speak to him today.
BBC US partner CBS also reported that Trump was considering selling his Tesla car - which he bought to help Musk promote the company.
Saturday, June 7: Musk tweeted "The America Party" on X, citing another tweet he posted earlier: The people have spoken, and America needs a new party to represent the 80% in the middle. It happens that 80% of people agree, and that's destiny.
According to official website data, Polymarket predicts that the probability of "Musk establishing a new political party this year" is 16%, and the probability of "Musk establishing a new political party before the end of June" is 5%.
2. How does the outside world view this war of words of the century?
Musk's father, Errol Musk, admitted in an interview with Russian media that his son Elon's public quarrel with Trump was a mistake. Errol said, "This is just a small matter that will end tomorrow." He explained, "Both sides have been under high pressure for five months and need to take a breath. They are extremely tired and stressed in clearing out opposition forces and working to restore national order, so it is expected that such a thing will happen." In addition, Errol also made it clear: "Trump is bound to win, he is the president-elect, so I think Elon made a mistake."
Navarro, a trade adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, dismissed Trump's public feud with Musk as insignificant, saying Musk was just "a special government employee who's gone when his term expires." "People come and go in the White House," Navarro said. Navarro also criticized Musk's long-standing opposition to tariffs, which are at the center of Trump's trade policy. "Musk doesn't like tariffs, that's it," he said, saying Musk has "made it clear" since Trump's first term. "We can disagree on this issue, but I would just say that during my first term, everyone who said that tariffs would lead to a recession and inflation was clearly dead wrong," Navarro said.
After Musk's public quarrel with Trump, Dmitry Novikov, the first deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma for international affairs, said Russia might offer Musk political asylum. "If he really (needs asylum), of course, Russia can provide it." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier in a call with reporters that the dispute was an internal matter of the United States and that the Kremlin believed Trump "will handle the situation himself."
A spokesperson for the European Commission joked that Elon Musk is "very popular" in Europe, AFP reported on June 6. This comes after the billionaire unexpectedly had a public dispute with US President Donald Trump. European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho was asked at the daily press conference whether Musk had contacted the EU to discuss relocating his business or setting up a new one. She smiled and replied: "He is very popular."
3. Will Musk return to the White House?
Judging from the current attitudes of both sides, the possibility of Musk returning to the White House during Trump's term is not very high.
Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Saturday that his relationship with Musk was over. "Yeah, I think so," he said when asked if he hoped to repair the damaged relationship, before replying "no."
Vice President JD Vance said Musk has "completely lost his mind" and may never be welcome again.
Vance noted that it was a "big mistake" for the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to attack the president.
Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Saturday that Musk was "disrespectful to the office of the presidency." "I think that's a very bad thing to do because he's very disrespectful. You can't disrespect the office of the presidency."
Musk donated about $250 million to Trump's presidential campaign last year. However, he has hinted in social media spats that he may support some of Trump's opponents in next year's midterm elections - offering support to challengers of lawmakers who supported Trump's tax bill.
When asked about the prospect of Musk endorsing a Democratic candidate running against the Republicans, Trump said he would face "serious consequences."
"Trump has 3.5 years left in his presidency, but I have 40+ years left," Musk wrote on X.
4. Is Tesla facing a major crisis?
As the verbal battle between the two continued to escalate, Tesla's stock price plummeted 14% on June 5, and then slowly rebounded.
In April this year, Tesla announced that its first-quarter car sales fell by 20%, profits plummeted by more than 70%, and its stock price also fell. Apart from the unsatisfactory operating conditions of Tesla due to the distraction of energy after entering the White House, Tesla may have other shortcomings.
First, it seems to have fallen behind in autonomous driving:
Veteran technology journalist Kara Swisher noted: "Tesla is a great car company. They can compete in the self-driving taxi space, but they are way behind."
Tesla has long been trying to catch up with rival Waymo, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet and whose driverless taxis have been roaming the streets of San Francisco for years and are now operating in more cities.
Second, unable to focus on car manufacturing:
“When he focuses on something, he’s a very powerful person,” said Ross Gerber, president and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management. “Before, he had to prove to the world that he could build an electric car — a technology that no one else could do. Now, he has to prove that he can build a rocket. He has a lot to prove.” “But he thinks he has more power than the president of the United States, which is probably the stupidest thing.”
At present, SpaceX has a pivotal position in the US space and national security agencies. After Trump quarreled with Musk, representatives of NASA and the Pentagon called on Space X's competitors to speed up the development of alternative rockets and spacecraft. "Government officials have contacted at least three commercial aerospace companies: Rocket Lab, Stoke Space and Blue Origin to understand the status of their rockets and when they can be used for government missions." Musk previously said that the flight of the Dragon spacecraft might be stopped. This will prevent NASA from sending astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Musk later gave up the threat. However, his statement caused concern among NASA officials who handed the safety of astronauts to Space X. The Pentagon also relies heavily on the company to launch its key satellites.
Third, the anger from the people:
Since Trump took office, protests have broken out every weekend across the country, collectively known as #TeslaTakedown. "He shouldn't be deciding the fate of our democracy by gradually dismantling our government. It's not right," protester Linda Koistinen said.
“He bought Twitter to increase his influence so he could reach hundreds of millions of people at any time,” said Joan Donovan, co-organizer of the #TeslaTakedown protest.
5. What impact will it have on the crypto market?
On June 6, when the argument between the two was at its most intense, DOGE, which Musk had strongly endorsed, plummeted 15% from its high on June 3.
Meme coin Trump was not immune to the crisis. On June 6, Trump plummeted 17.5% from its peak on June 4. Trump endorsed the view that his official Memecoin (TRUMP) can be used as an indicator of public political sentiment. Industry insiders pointed out that the short-term price fluctuations of Memecoin are driven by hype, but the long-term trend may reflect the public's expectations of Trump's political prospects.
The heated dispute between Musk and Trump has spawned a meme coin called KILL BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, which has a market value of over $53 million as traders have jumped in to hype it up. Hours after Musk publicly slammed the bill, Pump.Fun traders seized the opportunity and launched a meme coin called KILL BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL (KBBB). KBBB's market value soared to $53.12 million in just nine hours as traders rushed in, but trading in the token has largely gone quiet as of press time.
In the future, if the differences between the two escalate further, the crypto market cannot rule out the possibility of a black swan event.
Appendix: What does Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill say?
On May 22, 2025, the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a comprehensive tax and spending bill that extended tax cuts, increased eligibility requirements for federal benefits, and raised the nation's debt ceiling.
The more than 1,000-page bill is now headed to the Senate, which will have a chance to approve or amend its provisions before it reaches Trump.
Here are some of the key elements of the bill.
Social Security Tax Exemptions
During the campaign, Trump proposed eliminating taxes on Social Security income — the monthly benefit paid to the disabled and the elderly.
The House bill falls short of that promise, but it does temporarily increase the standard deduction to $4,000 for individuals 65 and older. The deduction would be in effect from 2025 to 2028.
The deduction begins to decline after $150,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly and after $75,000 for single filers.
More Medicaid Requirements
To help finance tax cuts elsewhere, Republicans added additional restrictions and requirements to Medicaid, the health care program relied on by millions of seniors, disabled and low-income Americans.
Changes to Medicaid, one of the largest components of federal spending, have been a major source of political conflict, leading to major divisions among lawmakers.
One of the changes is a new work requirement for childless adults without disabilities. To qualify, the bill says they must work at least 80 hours a month starting in December 2026.
Another change to the program is that the re-enrollment requirement will be changed from annually to every six months. Registrants will also have to provide additional proof of income and residency.
Raising the salt tax cap
The bill raises the deduction limit for state and local taxes (SALT), a very important issue for a handful of Republican holdouts in some Democratic-controlled urban areas.
Currently, the amount taxpayers can deduct from their federal taxes is capped at $10,000. That cap is set to expire this year.
In the new bill, House Republicans would raise the SALT tax limit to $40,000 for married couples making up to $500,000.
This is also a major point of contention.
A law passed in 2017 by the previous Trump administration set the cap at $10,000 in an effort to make room in the federal budget for tax cuts elsewhere.
Snap Benefits
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), a government program used by more than 40 million low-income Americans, also was reformed.
The new bill requires states to contribute more money to the program, which is also funded in part by the federal government.
It also adds work requirements for able-bodied Snap enrollees without dependents.
Overtime pay, tips and other expenses are not taxed
The bill fulfills one of Trump's signature campaign promises - to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay. Both promises were successfully included in the bill.
The plan would also allow Americans to deduct interest on auto loans only on American-made cars.
The child tax credit would also increase from $2,000 to $2,500 by 2028.
The bill also proposes raising the debt ceiling - the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow to pay off its debts - to $4 trillion (£2.9 trillion).
Raising the debt ceiling allows the government to pay for projects that Congress has already approved.
Source: Jinse Finance, BBC, Jinshi Data, X, Sina Finance, Yahoo Finance, CoinGecko
