A significant public feud has erupted between US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, reportedly ending their once-close relationship. The rift began when Musk, who previously donated approximately $250 million to Trump's campaign and served as a White House aide heading the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), publicly criticized a key domestic policy: Trump's tax and spending bill, dubbed the "Big Beautiful Bill."

Musk, after leaving his 129-day role at Doge where he aimed to cut government spending, labeled the bill a "disgusting abomination" on his social media platform X, arguing it would add trillions to the national deficit and undermine his efforts at Doge. While his initial posts did not directly criticize Trump, the president later expressed disappointment with Musk's behavior. This prompted a series of escalating posts from Musk, including claims that Trump would have lost the election without him and an accusation, later deleted, implicating Trump in files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein's lawyer has denied these accusations. Musk also briefly supported calls for Trump's impeachment, suggesting Vice President JD Vance should take over, in now-deleted posts.

In response, President Trump stated on his platform Truth Social that Musk had gone "crazy" and threatened to cut Musk's federal government contracts. In subsequent interviews with NBC News and Fox News, Trump declared their relationship was "over," stating, "I would assume so, yeah," and expressed no desire to mend ties or speak with Musk. He warned of "serious consequences" if Musk were to fund Democratic candidates running against Republicans who supported the bill, though he did not specify these consequences or confirm any probe into Musk's companies like StarLink or SpaceX.

Vice-President JD Vance commented on the situation, telling podcaster Theo Von that Musk had "gone so nuclear" and made a "big mistake" by attacking the president, expressing hope, albeit uncertain, that Musk might be welcomed back. The controversial bill, which nonpartisan analysts estimate could add $2.4 trillion to the US debt over 10 years, narrowly passed the House and is now before the Senate. Trump remains confident it will pass by July 4th, suggesting Musk's opposition might even galvanize support for it.

Despite the public fallout and Musk deleting some critical posts, which some interpret as an attempt to de-escalate, Trump maintained Musk had been "disrespectful to the office of the president." People reportedly close to Musk indicated his anger was receding and he might wish to repair the relationship. Musk had previously endorsed Trump after an assassination attempt on the then-candidate and was lauded by Trump for his work at Doge, even though his actual spending cuts were minimal compared to his stated goals. Musk is not expected to attend an upcoming UFC event with Trump, a departure from their previous joint appearances.