All is not well between U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Musk, who previously stepped down from DOGE, has now taken a stand against Trump. Accusations are being flung from both sides.
The question arises: how did this partnership resembling Bollywood icons Jai and Veeru collapse?
In the 2024 presidential election, Musk threw his weight behind Trump. He launched a vigorous campaign in support of Trump through his social media platform and was present at several public rallies. Musk was rewarded with control over DOGE. Then came Trump's ambitious
One Big, Beautiful Bill
, which was aggressively passed. Initially, Musk subtly opposed it, but as things unfolded, he stood firmly against it.
The reason behind Musk's opposition unfolded when the bill axed tax credits for electric vehicles, directly impacting the sales of Musk's Tesla. Declaring the bill catastrophic, Musk accused Trump of rushing its passage overnight.
Source: aajtak
Targeting Musk, Trump commented that he had no issues with Musk standing against him. “He should have done this months ago. This is the best bill ever presented in Congress, saving massive government spending and offering unprecedented tax cuts. Without it, taxes would have skyrocketed by 68%.”
Source: aajtak
In response, Elon Musk retorted, “This bill wasn’t shown to me even once and was passed overnight, ensuring no one in Congress could read it.”
Source: aajtak
With Trump and Musk openly exchanging accusations, Trump, through a series of posts, criticized Musk, suggesting, “The easiest way to save our budget’s hefty expenditure is by cutting off Musk's government subsidies and contracts. I’m puzzled why Biden hasn’t done so.”
Source: aajtak
Musk, too, didn’t hold back. Retaliating, he claimed, “SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft following the President's statement about canceling my government contracts.”
Trump mentioned, “Musk turned against me because I advised him to leave DOGE. I concluded the electric vehicle mandate, which was forcing people to purchase electric cars, driving him (Musk) crazy.”
Source: aajtak
Musk retorted to this by stating, “Trump's tariffs could lead to a recession in the second half of this year.”
Source: aajtak
This verbal spat between Musk and Trump has left investors worried, resulting in a drop in Tesla shares. This marked the 11th significant plummet since Tesla went public in 2010, with shares tumbling 14%. This decline cost Musk nearly $126 billion INR (12.6 lakh crore INR). Consequently, Musk's net worth also took a hit, with him losing $26 billion (2.23 lakh crore INR) in a day. Forbes now estimates his net worth at $388 billion (33.31 lakh crore INR), over five times Trump's $5.5 billion net worth.
Why Musk Has Issues with Trump
The bill proposed by Donald Trump's administration aims to end tax credits for electric vehicle purchases. Previously, the Biden administration offered a $7,500 tax break on new EV purchases which Trump plans to abolish.
The bill stipulates no exemption for companies selling over 200,000 EVs between 2009 and 2025, directly impacting Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Another reason is that Elon Musk wanted his trusted associate Jared Isaacman appointed as an administrator at NASA, which Trump ignored, dismissing Musk’s recommendation. Musk believed that Isaacman at NASA could benefit his company SpaceX.
Trump transferred DOGE responsibility to Musk, tasked with reducing government expenses. He essentially directed 'waste and unnecessary expenses' reduction, leading to DOGE downsizing thousands of government employees. This significantly tarnished Musk's image, making it appear as if he willfully terminated jobs.
