Washington, June 8: U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed the breakdown of his relationship with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, warning the billionaire of “serious consequences” if he supports Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.
In an interview with NBC on Saturday, Trump said he has no plans to reconcile with Musk, who was once a key campaign backer. “I would assume so, yeah,” Trump said when asked if their relationship was over. “I have no intention of speaking to him.”
Trump accused Musk of betraying their alliance, stating, “I gave him a lot of breaks… I saved his life in my first administration.”
The rupture follows Musk’s sharp criticism of Trump’s signature economic legislation — dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Musk called a “disgusting abomination” that would exacerbate the federal deficit. The bill, which aims to extend Trump-era tax cuts, has drawn scrutiny for potentially adding $2.4 trillion to the deficit and leaving nearly 11 million Americans without health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The dispute rapidly escalated into a personal and political feud, with Musk using his social media platform X to suggest Trump should be impeached. He also alleged, without evidence, that the administration was concealing information about Trump’s ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Musk has since deleted those posts.
Trump responded by threatening to cancel Musk’s federal contracts, many of which are with SpaceX and worth over $22 billion. “The easiest way to save money… is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If he does [support Democrats], he’ll have to pay the consequences.”
The standoff has rattled financial markets. Tesla’s shares fell sharply on Thursday, losing $153 billion in market value before partially rebounding. Analysts say the longer the dispute continues, the more uncertainty it may create for investors.
Vice-President J.D. Vance sought to downplay the feud, calling Musk an “emotional guy” who made a “huge mistake.” Speaking in a podcast interview taped Thursday, Vance said, “I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that’s not possible now because he’s gone so nuclear.”
Vance also rejected Musk’s claims about Epstein, saying, “Donald Trump didn’t do anything wrong.” He defended the bill at the heart of the dispute, emphasizing its focus on tax cuts over austerity. “It’s a good bill,” he said. “It’s not a perfect bill.”
The public fallout has alarmed White House officials and Republican leaders as they assess potential political and economic consequences. For now, Trump appears unmoved. “I’m too busy doing other things,” he told NBC.
