A simmering feud between US President Donald Trump and tech tycoon Elon Musk has escalated, with both men trading personal barbs.
The pair fell out midway through Trump’s first year in office after Musk accused him of undoing his hard work with the department of government efficiency (DOGE).
Musk’s criticism came as the Trump-backed “Big Beautiful Bill”, which combines major tax cuts with significant increases in border security funding, was passed by the Congress.
Last week, Musk, the chief executive officer (CEO) of X, vacated his role as DOGE head.
Although his exit from the White House came a day after he openly criticised Trump’s bill, Musk insisted leaving the government had nothing to do with the strained friendship with the president.
Instead, Musk said his exit was tied to the fulfilment of his 130 days of service as a special government employee.
Trump flipped the script in a Truth Social post made Thursday evening.
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The president said he asked Musk to leave his administration because the businessman was “wearing thin”.
“I asked him to leave; I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump added.
But Musk called Trump’s statement “an obvious lie”.
“The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon’s governmental subsidies and contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!” the US president said in a separate post.
The US electric vehicle (EV) mandate aimed to require increasing percentages of new vehicle sales to be electric or zero-emission, reaching 35 percent by 2026 and 100 percent by 2035.
Trump said he wanted the US to have “all kinds of cars”.
His latest comments also come just hours after he praised Musk for his “hard work” at DOGE.
Biting back, the Tesla CEO accused Trump of being named in the files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and financier, who was accused of operating a sex trafficking ring involving underage girls and high-profile individuals.
“Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out,” Musk said.
In another tweet, the X CEO said Trump’s tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year.
He also agreed to a separate post that called for Trump’s impeachment, with JD Vance, US vice-president, as his replacement.
Earlier, Musk accused Trump of ingratitude, adding that he would not have won the elections without him.
