U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that his relationship with Elon Musk is over.
When asked by NBC News whether their close ties had ended, Trump replied, “I would assume so, yeah,” and showed no interest in repairing the relationship.
The fallout follows Musk’s public criticism of Trump’s tax and spending bill, a flagship policy of the administration.
Musk, who previously donated $250 million to Trump’s campaign and served as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), had warned the bill would drastically increase the national deficit.
Although Musk initially refrained from criticizing Trump directly, tensions escalated after he called the bill a “disgusting abomination” in a post on X, shortly after resigning from Doge.
Trump later expressed disappointment in Musk’s actions, calling him “disrespectful to the office of the president.”
In response, Musk accused Trump of being tied to Jeffrey Epstein, though the post was later deleted and Epstein’s lawyer denied the allegations.
Vice President JD Vance said Musk had “gone so nuclear” with his criticisms that reconciliation seemed unlikely.
Trump warned of “serious consequences” if Musk backed Democratic candidates or challengers to Republicans who supported his tax plan.
The dramatic public rift marks the end of a once-powerful alliance between the former president and the tech mogul.
