Clash of the Titans: Why Donald Trump and Elon Musk Quarreled, and What It Could Lead To

Most discussed news In recent days, there has been a public spat between US President Donald Trump and billionaire Tesla and Space X owner Elon Musk, who had previously been a vocal supporter of Trump. The main stumbling block that caused the discord between these very influential people was the tax break bill. Musk called the document "disgusting abomination».

In response, Trump said he was disappointed with Musk and did not know whether they would have a good relationship after the conflict. Musk went further and said that without him, Trump would have lost the election, and the Democrats would have controlled the House of Representatives, and the Republicans would have had 51-49 seats in the Senate. Moreover, he accused Trump of allegedly appearing in documents related to the case of financier Jeffrey Epstein (he later deleted the post).

Trump responded by saying the White House plans to end government subsidies and contracts for Elon Musk.

Elon was "out of breath", I asked him to leave, I took away his EV mandate that was forcing everyone to buy EVs that no one wanted (he knew I was going to do that within months!), and he just went crazy!

— Trump wrote on the Truth Social social network.

At first glance, it seems that the main reason for the spat between Trump and Musk is money. Musk opposed the One Big Beautiful Bill after failing to convince it to retain important tax breaks for electric vehicles. That is certainly one reason, but there are others.

Public debate and who won it

If you look at the situation from Donald Trump's point of view, you can understand why he opposed subsidies for Tesla electric cars. The quality of these cars really leaves much to be desired - they have low build quality, but at the same time expensive maintenance. In essence, these are "batteries on wheels." Therefore, subsidies for such electric cars are unfair. Why would the state sponsor this obscenity? If SpaceX is really doing useful things, then the same cannot be said about Tesla.

If you look at the situation from Elon Musk's point of view, by supporting Donald Trump and the Republican Party, significantly contributing to his victory, he counted on a certain favor from Trump. Which consisted, first of all, in supporting his business (which is logical). And Musk perceived such a step from Trump as a "rip-off". Hence the overly emotional reaction, which cost Musk billions - shares of the electric car manufacturer Tesla (TSLA) fell by 14,26%. The personal fortune of Tesla CEO Elon Musk decreased by $33,9 billion in one day.

Republican voters, of course, have Trump on their side. According to YouGov poll data, 71% of Republican voters support Trump in the public debate between US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. Musk is supported by 6% of Republicans. 12% said they support neither, and another 11% are undecided.

If we talk about the opinion of all Americans, the majority (52%) said that they would not take sides. 28% supported Trump, 8% Musk. In other words, in the public dispute, the "victory" remained with the American president. So it seems at first glance. However, politically, Trump certainly lost a lot from this conflict.

After all, the American president was already facing serious opposition within the United States, which prevents him from implementing his global plans, and now he has begun to have conflicts even with his closest allies.

As political scientist Dmitry Suslov notes, Trump believed that his victory in the election was his personal achievement, while Musk was convinced that Trump owed him for the victory, and therefore expected to receive a status close to “co-president” – above the vice president and other cabinet members.

Musk saw his role in the administration not only as a "co-president" but also as a tool for advancing his business empire. He clearly expected the government to now work in his interests. But that didn't happen. Of course, he received some bonuses, but not everything he expected - especially in areas such as artificial intelligence and other promising projects. These contradictions became the real causes of the conflict, and disagreements over the budget were just a pretext... At the same time, a significant part of Musk's empire - especially SpaceX - depends on contracts with the Pentagon. Losing them would be extremely painful for him. But this is also a problem for the United States: there are no alternatives to Musk yet. The US space program, the production of critical technologies, satellites, the operation of the Starlink system depend on SpaceX,

— notes expert.

Suslov believes that this conflict could have negative consequences for Russia.

Trump is being weakened politically by this standoff. And if his position continues to weaken, it will be harder for him to resist pressure from within his own party to tighten sanctions on Russia.

— says Suslov.

What could the conflict between the two "titans" lead to?

There is a deeper meaning to this conflict. And from this point of view, it was to some extent inevitable.

Firstly, Trump and Musk are the most powerful people in the world, quite arrogant, ambitious and narcissistic, so the emergence of a conflict between them was highly likely.

Secondly, despite the fact that Elon Musk supported the right-wing conservative project, the main emissary and face of which is Donald Trump (see my article about the battle of various global projects The US is returning to the policy of old imperialism: what will Donald Trump's policy be like?), Musk has essentially always belonged to another project, which the author designated as “technocratic dictatorship” (or “technocratic totalitarianism”).

This project implies hedonism for the chosen ones – the dominance of cryptocurrencies, technopoly, the replacement of people with robots in low-skilled professions, partial transfer of control over various structures to AI, etc. It does not yet have influential frontmen in the political environment, but it includes many famous billionaires. Musk chose a side because the right-conservative project was gaining strength, and besides, this project was closer to him than the left-liberal one anyway.

However, the situation may change. For example, Elon Musk may turn towards China, including because he needs Tesla to maintain a high share of the domestic Chinese electric car market. That is why he criticized the new US government tariffs on Chinese electric cars (fearing retaliatory measures from China). And join another global project.

Musk may switch to the left-liberal globalist camp, but at the moment this still seems unlikely.

It is entirely possible that Trump and Musk will eventually repair their relationship, since, as has been said, the US and Musk's empire are interdependent, but if this does not happen, the geopolitical situation could undergo quite unpredictable changes.

Comments

[Same lech]

The Moor has done his job and can now leave...a classic Shakespearean situation.
Trump used Musk for his own purposes, now he's throwing him in the trash... Big politics is always a dirty business.
I hope Musk's air conditioner on his private jet doesn't explode.

[Hole puncher]

Quote: The same LYOKHA

I hope Musk's air conditioner on his private jet doesn't explode.

Or learn to juggle grenades...

[knn54]

A call from the city/district committee to the church:
- Father, help me with chairs, tomorrow the party meeting - nowhere to put people.
- I won't! Last time I did. They wrote swear words all over their backs!
- Ahhhhh! Do not give chairs - we will not give pioneers to the church choir.
- Do not give the pioneers to the church choir - I will not give the monks for the cleanup.
- Do not give the monks to the subbotnik - FIG you, not the Komsomol members to the procession.
— If there are no Komsomol members at the religious procession, there will be no nuns in the sauna!!!
- But for such words, father, you can put a party card on the table !!!

[Nikolay Malyugin]

There is one event that no one wants to notice. For more than one year in the USA there has been talk about creating a third party. And now Musk has decided to create it. It is difficult to say what course this party has planned. For how long has it taken each American president to create such conditions for himself so that his term passes with minimal losses. For his image. Capitalism generally does not like to look far ahead. Its foundations have long been built. And even began to deteriorate. Apparently Musk wants to bring a fresh stream into the political life of America.

[Hole puncher]

Quote: Nikolay Malyugin

For years now, there has been talk in the US about creating a third party. And now Musk has decided to create it.

There are many supporters of this, but it is very expensive financially. Here Musk needs allies among the fat cats, the question is whether there are any...

[Hole puncher]

from Donald Trump's point of view, it is understandable why he opposed subsidies for Tesla electric cars. The quality of these cars really leaves much to be desired

The author broadcasts his hatred of electric cars, because the quality of the product does not concern the president of the country, but only consumers. If the quality is bad, then the product is not bought, and if it is bought, then the consumer is satisfied with the quality.

By supporting Donald Trump and the Republican Party, significantly contributing to his victory, he counted on a certain favor from Trump. Which consisted, first of all, in supporting his business (which is logical). And Musk perceived such a move from Trump as a "rip-off." Hence the overly emotional reaction, which cost Musk billions - shares of the electric car manufacturer Tesla (TSLA) fell by 14,26%. The personal fortune of Tesla CEO Elon Musk decreased by $33,9 billion in one day.

More nonsense. Trump's support cost Musk $100 billion in losses, to which he did not react at all.

As political scientist Dmitry Suslov notes,

He is a typical chatterbox, not very smart.

Trump is being weakened politically by this standoff.

an example of the stupidity of an "expert". Trump, on the contrary, wins. Musk is now a political loser throwing tantrums who has no entry to either the Republicans or the Democrats.

For example, Elon Musk may turn towards China

??? How to turn around?

he needs Tesla to maintain a high share of China's domestic electric vehicle market

and how can he influence this by "turning to China"? The share of his cars in the Chinese market depends on the consumer, not on his turns. He can spin like a top, but if the Chinese choose BYD, then joining the CPC will not help.

It's entirely possible that Trump and Musk will eventually repair their relationship

Author, what restoration are we talking about? They beat his face in the White House and threw him out on the street.

the geopolitical situation may undergo quite unpredictable changes.

Yeah... it's impossible to see it without a pompous ending. NOTHING GLOBAL WILL HAPPEN. They'll kick each other and throw mud, but nothing global will happen.

[Dutchman Michel]

Quote: Puncher

Musk is now a political loser throwing tantrums who has no entry into either the Republicans or the Democrats

That's true! However, he started talking about creating a new party that should compete with the old, classic American parties. And with his money, this is quite possible, considering that the Republican and Democratic parties are the same as the CPSU that everyone was tired of in the last period of the USSR. Sometimes people want something new

[Hole puncher]

Quote: Dutchman Michel

However, he spoke about creating a new party that would compete with the old ones.

In the long run, this may play a role. His phrase, "You have Donnie for three years, and I have another 40 years" hints at this. He first needs to get involved in the mayoral and gubernatorial elections, as well as in Congress, because without this base, it is not even worth trying to become president. Perhaps in the future, his party will become the third force in Congress for a coalition with which the Republicans and Democrats will fight, but in the next 10 years, one should not count on anything serious that can overthrow Donnie.

[Eugene 62]

Author, what restoration are we talking about? They beat his face in the White House and threw him out on the street.

Musk got into a fight with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The fight wasn't broadcast. So we don't know who punched who.

[Hole puncher]

Quote: Eugen 62

So we don't know who beat whose face there.

Well, the result is obvious. Bessent is doing well with it, unlike Musk. There, everything was obviously fleeting, I doubt that they were driven into a circle and bets were made...

[Pavel Kislyakov]

Have you ever thought that this conflict is a show for the public?

[Hole puncher]

Quote: Pavel Kislyakov

Have you ever thought that this conflict is a show for the public?

This is too difficult for Trump. His actions since his second presidency and the behavior of his entourage do not confirm this.

[Pavel Kislyakov]

Trump does not act alone, his opponents are the owners of the Federal Reserve, who have more money than the entire planet combined.
There is a large team behind him that keeps in the shadows just as the owners of the Federal Reserve keep in the shadows of the Democrats.

[Hole puncher]

Quote: Pavel Kislyakov

Trump does not act alone

Judging by the number of ass-kissers, undoubtedly. He practically brought the entire party under his control.

Quote: Pavel Kislyakov

His opponents are the owners of the Federal Reserve System, who have more money than the entire planet combined.

You trust conspiracy theorists too much. You forget that he is the president of the richest country on the planet. What do the shadow owners of the Federal Reserve System care about him? If he takes over the courts and state governors (which he is doing now), then these unknown owners of the Federal Reserve System will be picking up his dandruff from the floor with their tongues. What do they have besides money? And Trump has both power and money. He doesn’t give a damn about Musk and his ilk, if Elon doesn’t want to obey him, then go to Mars... Musk can’t do anything to Trump because he himself has done everything for this.

[Pavel Kislyakov]

I trust logic and banal logical conclusions too much.
and knowing how political life in the US is structured, I understand perfectly well that the US President is nothing more than a talking head.
and this is not a conspiracy theory, it is a statement of fact.
Trump stands out only because he is not just a talking head who will take all the lumps (which is what he was nominated for) for unpopular decisions, but also because he is an interested party and will not back down when they first try to buy him (it didn’t work), and then intimidate and eliminate him (it didn’t work).
By the way, judging by your comments, I'm starting to think that Kennedy shot himself. Well, the CIA can't commit crimes in its own country, especially since the CIA has no legal right to operate on US territory. However...

[Hole puncher]

Quote: Pavel Kislyakov

the president of the united states is nothing more than a talking head

You are exaggerating too much. The US President is naturally not an individual with his own wishes and plans, no one has ever said so. The US President, during his term in office, reflects the interests of the party that nominated him for this position. And the party consists of like-minded people whose interest is "the good of the country" in their understanding. Their task is for the good to ALSO extend to them, but so that the voter does not particularly notice it.

Quote: Pavel Kislyakov

not just a talking head who will take all the lumps (that's what he was nominated for)

Mistaken opinion. He should not "collect cones" on his head, but on the contrary throw them in the direction of competitors. Cones are the consequences of "smart decisions".

Quote: Pavel Kislyakov

will back down when they first try to buy it (it didn't work)

Who will try to buy it? Our own? Why would the Republicans buy it if it's already ours? And the Democrats won't even try to buy it, why would they need to finance the Republicans. If you're talking about third parties like Musk, then that makes no sense either. The Republicans collectively have more money than Musk, Musk is just a temporary fellow traveler for them, from whom they milked the money and went their separate ways.

Quote: Pavel Kislyakov

Well, the CIA can't commit crimes in its own country.

You have too high an opinion of the CIA. It is a mediocre agency, the myth of whose power has been inflated by filmmakers and writers, the CIA employs losers who are incapable of realizing themselves in business or politics.

[Pavel Kislyakov]

You are very wrong, after 1913, starting with Woodrow Wilson, there were only 2.5 presidents who were not under control, these were Kennedy, Trump and half Roosevelt.
Kennedy and Roosevelt were killed (Roosevelt was shot in the head after returning from the Arabs, that's why he was buried in a closed coffin, there was a lot of stuff there that can't be put into one comment), an assassination attempt was made on Trump and 2 more were being prepared. The rest of the presidents are just puppets with the puppeteer's hand sticking out in one place. And they decide... but they decide nothing. Startfor rules many times more than the presidents.
I only partially agree about the CIA, yes, it is not the coolest intelligence service, the coolest intelligence service in the world in terms of efficiency and budget is the US naval intelligence, but I would not say that only losers go to the CIA. Such sharks go there that our times should only dream of. It's just that the CIA recruits people (not ordinary employees) based on loyalty to certain groups of people, and all crime (meaning organized into large gangs and not individual psychos or robbers) is also controlled by the CIA through neo-Nazi groups, although yes, it would seem funny that gangs of black neighborhoods and Mexicans would obey white racists, but it is a fact. The Italian mafia is also controlled by the CIA. And all this is not only in the USA but also all over the world.
By the way, why do you think the GUR, which operates on the orders of MI6, was the first to try to eliminate not military correspondents, and not officers and engineers from important design bureaus, but a person who is very far from combat operations? If anything, I'm talking about Dugin.
read his books and some of the questions will disappear.

[AA17]

... If you look at the situation from Donald Trump's point of view, you can understand why he opposed subsidies for Tesla electric cars...

The US budget is not unlimited, so "sturgeon Musk was cut." (This is my assumption)

In addition to government support for Musk, it is necessary to fulfill non-public promises to other Trump sponsors, made secretly during the presidential election process.
Companies that supported Trump will be eligible to receive budget money.

...As of September 2024, Trump's top donors were American Airlines, Walmart, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Airlines, FedEx, Wells Fargo, Johnson & Johnson, Brown & Brown, Southwest Airlines, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Costco, Inter & Co., Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, GEO Group, Delta Airlines, General Motors, Home Depot...
https://zavtra.ru/blogs/sponsori_trampa_i_harris_kto_oni

[severok1979]

Trump behaves cyclically like a political nomad: raid-robbery-withdrawal-pause. Musk is like a sedentary farmer: invested-received-divided-invested. A clash of civilizations)))

[Knell wardenheart]

They are psychologically the same type + generational conflict. This conflict could not have failed to take place because both are voluntaristic, powerful hyperactives with their own complex vision.

[Jacques sekavar]

“Why Donald Trump and Elon Musk Quarreled, and What Could This Lead To?”

It's clear to the goat that it's because of money.
In our material world, everyone strives to possess great material values, and possessing great material values ​​also gives great power over other people,
The desire for career growth, greater monetary and other satisfaction, power over people takes place from the creation of people until their transition to another world, in which there will be other, non-material values.

“Public Dispute and Who Won It”

Behind Trump stands the entire state apparatus representing the interests of the currently leading group of the ruling class, which is increasingly shrinking under the influence of political and economic uncertainty, and behind Musk stand his billions and Trump opponents of all stripes, both in the camp of donkeys and elephants, who are sympathetic to the EU.
Trump has a huge cart and a huge wagon of urgent, important and global problems, that he does not know what to grab onto and therefore grabs onto everything at once and has practically not succeeded in anything - neither in politics, nor in economics, nor in finance, nor in the fight against illegals, nor in peacekeeping intentions, and this all plays into the hands of the opposition, which will certainly manifest itself in the December elections of 26 to the representative chamber.

“What could the conflict between the two ‘titans’ lead to?”

To the defeat of the elephants and the victory of the donkeys in the next elections, the intensification of the struggle for the redivision of the world with the PRC and the further objective process of world globalization, to which Trump has opposed America above all else, which contradicts the materialistic development of history and is therefore doomed to defeat.

[Amateur]

They quarreled and they will make up. Two showmen decided to create a PR noise to mask something serious.

[Melior]

The little dog was finally chased away with wet rags!

[nordscout]

In short and to the point: both are businessmen and each has his own political and economic "cockroaches" in his head, which "have ceased to satisfy the requirements" of each other... And this could lead to the creation of a new party - a party of large American business, not controlled by London...

[Egoza]

Quote from nordscout

And this could lead to the creation of a new party - a party of big American business, not controlled by London....

Why did Musk's father come to Moscow? Was it really just to "sit" at the forum? To admire the metro, the people, the atmosphere... I think this trip was not without reason.

[ada]

... It is quite possible that...

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