US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's heated public fallout on Thursday night triggered threats to end several SpaceX and government contracts and a crucial partnership.
The clash erupted last week over Musk’s opposition to a mega-budget bill proposed by Trump. The bill, which includes significant tax cuts at the risk of increased national debt, was condemned as a "horrific monstrosity" by Musk.
The White House subsequently announced the departure of the owner of Space X and Tesla, after six months heading the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
On Thursday, it began during a press conference with Trump saying he was "disappointed" in Musk, citing his criticisms of his tax and spending bill, even signalling that it may be the end of their "great relationship".
In response, Musk took to social media to accuse the US President of "ingratitude" and claiming that without him, "Trump would have lost the election".
Tensions escalated further that night, with the US President threatening to revoke government contracts awarded to Musk.
The Tesla CEO then accused Donald Trump of being named in the Jeffrey Epstein files, implying his participation (without providing evidence) in Epstein's sexual exploitation crimes – even if Musk himself has also been photographed in 2014 with Ghislaine Maxwell, Espstein's partner in crime.
In an another retaliation, Musk further announced that his SpaceX Dragon spacecraft would be decommissioned – NASA uses this to transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). It is currently the only American spacecraft certified to transport crews to the ISS.
Following the Trump-Musk spat, Tesla’s stock plummeted by 14% on Thursday.
In total, the net worth loss for the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was reportedly reduced by approximately $34 billion (around €29.7 billion) due to heated exchanges with Trump, according to the financial news agency Bloomberg.
This constitutes the second-largest wealth loss ever recorded by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the world’s richest individuals. The largest previous loss was also suffered by Elon Musk in 2022, due to a decline in Tesla shares and the acquisition of Twitter.
Despite this setback, Musk remains the world’s wealthiest individual, with an estimated fortune of $334.5 billion (approximately €292.6 billion).
