Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s relationship is a fascinating saga marked by shifting loyalties and public clashes.
Since 2017, their dynamic has reflected the unpredictable mix of business and politics, most recently reigniting controversy after a high-profile social media feud.
Their story goes back to 2017, when Musk accepted a role on Trump’s manufacturing jobs advisory council.
Highlights
- Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s relationship has been marked by shifting loyalties, from collaboration in 2017 to public clashes and political drama.
- Musk spent $277 million supporting Trump and Republican candidates, becoming the largest individual political donor since 2010.
- Musk led the DOGE initiative as a special governmental employee in Trump's 2024 presidency.
- They had a fallout after a high-profile social media feud in June 2025.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s alliance began in 2017
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Musk had met with Trump at Trump Tower to argue for the SpaceX Mars colonization program. He also told Gizmodo that he was among several "voices of reason" for Trump.
However, when Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, Musk resigned in protest.
This decision marked a clear ideological break between Musk’s environmental priorities and Trump’s political agenda. Despite the public fallout, Musk’s companies, particularly SpaceX, continued to secure important government contracts.
Politically, Musk donated to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, according to Federal Election Commission data. In 2018, he endorsed Andrew Yang's presidential campaign with the Democrats. He also supported Kanye West's campaign in the 2020 presidential election but later said he voted for Biden.
His political views changed by 2022 when Musk stated that the Democratic Party had become the "party of division and hate" and he would rather vote for the Republicans.
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Around this time, Musk was in talks to buy Twitter. He said he would reverse Trump’s ban on Twitter if he went through with buying the company.
In January 2022, Trump called Musk one of the world’s “great geniuses” and likened him to Thomas Edison.
This was short-lived, and in just six months, Trump called Musk a “bull---- artist”.
Talking about Musk’s journey of buying Twitter, Trump said, “Elon is not going to buy Twitter… he’s got himself a mess.”
Musk replied: “I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.”
Musk’s purchase of Twitter in late 2022 (which he later rebranded as X) became a major turning point.
One of Musk’s earliest moves was to reinstate Trump’s suspended Twitter account, a decision that gave Trump a broader platform as he prepared for the 2024 elections.
After buying Twitter, Musk reinstated Trump's X account
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Trump had been banned from Twitter following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Musk’s decision was hailed by Trump supporters as a victory for free speech and criticized by others as enabling harmful rhetoric.
Despite Musk’s initial public support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Republican primaries, the dynamic shifted dramatically after a violent assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in mid-2024.
Shortly after the attack, Musk endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential bid.
In October, Musk made his first public appearance with Trump, wearing a black MAGA cap, and said: "As you can see, I’m not just MAGA — I’m dark, gothic MAGA."
He also announced that he would give away $1 million a day to voters in swing states who had signed a petition from his America PAC (political action committee) aimed at supporting free speech and the right to bear arms.
By the end of the presidential campaign, Musk had spent $277 million supporting Trump and other Republican candidates, making him the largest individual political donor since at least 2010.
Trump, then a frontrunner in the 2024 race, publicly praised Musk, calling him “a star” and “an amazing guy”. Musk moved from the sidelines to a more direct political role.
Musk spent $277 million supporting Trump's 2024 Presidential Campaign
Trump announced that Musk, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, would lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency — DOGE”. The department would be an independent advisory group to cut government spending and streamline bureaucracy.
Musk was operating as a special government employee.
Later, in November 2024, Trump traveled to Texas to witness SpaceX’s Starship launch alongside Musk. Reports stated that the pair spent “almost every day together.” The Washington Post also referred to him as "somewhere between unofficial co-president and first buddy”.
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The New York Times revealed that Musk spent most of the two months after the election renting a $2,000-per-night cottage on the grounds of Trump’s Florida residence.
Musk is also reported to have sat in on and even held talks with foreign leaders.
While DOGE started with a target of $2 trillion, revised to $1 trillion, Musk claimed to have saved the government $175 billion. He had more than 100,000 layoffs as part of the workforce reduction efforts.
But members of Trump’s cabinet were growing tired of Musk’s meddling. DOGE also faced legal challenges as part of their layoffs and was criticized for their lack of transparency.
Then, in May 2025, Musk announced his departure from the administration.
The fallout was swift and intense.
It started when Musk openly criticized a key bipartisan budget bill central to Trump’s legislative agenda, nicknamed the “Big Beautiful Bill”.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote on X on June 5. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
In June, Musk left DODGE and criticized Trump's bipartisan budget bill
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He later rebranded the bill as the “Big Ugly Spending Bill.”
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Trump retaliated by calling Musk "crazy"
Musk also polled his X followers about creating a new political party "that actually represents the 80% in the middle.”
The social media battleground became more serious when Musk accused Trump of being in the Epstein files.
“Time to drop the really big bomb Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public,” he said on X.
The insinuated connection between Trump and Jeffrey Epstein ignited a media firestorm.
Musk accused Trump of being in the Epstein files
Image credits: Elon Musk/ X (now deleted)
The “Epstein Files” refer to government documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier convicted for sex trafficking of minors. Trump and Epstein had a long history. They were seen together at events in the 1990s and early 2000s, before an alleged fallout.
By Friday morning, both parties began to slightly soften their tone. Trump told CNN he had no plans to speak with Musk but wished him well.
Trump also responded to Musk’s allegations, sharing a screenshot of an X post from David Schoen, Epstein's defense attorney. Schoen said in the post that Epstein "had no information to hurt President Trump."
Consequently, Musk said on X that he would apologize to Trump "profusely as soon as there is a full dump of the Epstein files."
Image credits: X
On Saturday, Musk deleted some of the X posts he had made, including the one in which he said Trump was named in the Epstein files.
Then, on June 11, Musk wrote on X: “I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week. They went too far.”
Looking back, the Musk-Trump saga echoes earlier historical clashes between presidents and powerful businessmen.
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History shows that rich and powerful people often lose when they fight with a president.
Big names like Nicholas Biddle, William Hearst, and Joseph Kennedy were allies with U.S. presidents, but while their careers ended in disgrace, the presidents retained or expanded their political capital.
“These were always two big beasts used to getting their own way. Two alpha males trying to get along. And now the Donald Trump and Elon Musk relationship is in meltdown,” Geoff Beattie, Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill University, told The Conversation.
Going forward, the challenge for Musk will be balancing his commercial interests with the unpredictable nature of politics. For Trump, it will be maintaining unity within his base while managing allies like Musk as he seeks another term in the White House.
Musk could split the voter base in the next election
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Musk’s willingness to fund primary opponents and possibly start a third party could weaken Trump’s grip and fracture the GOP’s voter base.
Although Trump remains popular among core Republicans, Musk’s ability to target key swing states could alter election outcomes. This internal conflict exposes the party’s vulnerability in a closely divided political landscape.
Ultimately, Musk’s actions could reshape the balance of power within the GOP and American politics.