Trump Disappointed In Musk : Why This Feud Is Shaking The Tech Industry ?

The break between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, once strategic allies, is now coming to light. Amid fierce criticisms, accusations of ingratitude, and budgetary tensions, their public confrontation reveals the fault lines of a power shared between ballots and algorithms. This clash, launched from the Oval Office to social media, could redefine the balances between political influence, industrial ambitions, and electoral prospects.

A Break Staged from the Oval Office

The tensions between Trump and Musk around the budget bill escalate to another level. Indeed, the scene unfolded this Thursday, June 5, in the Oval Office, under camera flashes, in the presence of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Donald Trump, visibly annoyed, took advantage of this diplomatic reception to publicly settle scores with Elon Musk, his former adviser and key supporter during the 2024 presidential campaign.

The cause of this confrontation is a fierce criticism made by Musk a few days earlier about the budget bill, which he called on X a “repugnant abomination”. Trump, with a tone mixing disappointment and sarcasm, declared :

Elon and I had an excellent relationship. I don’t know if that will still be the case. I am surprised.

He goes on more bluntly: “I am very disappointed, because Elon knew the content of this law better than almost everyone here.”

The American president then spoke of what he describes as an unexplained change in Musk’s behavior, insinuating he might be suffering from an “anti-Trump derangement syndrome.”

For Trump, this turnaround would be of a personal nature, linked to frustration after his departure from the government. For his part, Elon Musk immediately responded on his social network X. In a series of posts, he refuted the president’s statements and accused him of ingratitude. Here are the key facts of this first exchange :

• Criticism of the federal budget : Musk directly attacked the text defended by Trump, denounced as an “abomination” ;

• Knowledge of the file : Trump claims that Musk “knew the content of this law better than almost everyone here,” making his criticism incomprehensible to him ;

• A former closeness : the two men maintained a close collaboration, Musk having led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ;

• The first words of break : Trump calls Musk “ungrateful” and suggests that their personal relationship is irreparably altered ;

• An immediate response from Musk : On X, the entrepreneur posted several defensive messages, including “Nonsense” and especially “Without me, Trump would have lost the 2024 election.”

At this stage, the attacks remain focused on disagreements related to the budget text and their past relationship. However, the personal turn, the timing choice (during a diplomatic meeting), and the severity of the words suggest an escalation, which subsequent events will quickly confirm.

When the Quarrel Becomes an Economic War

The discord did not stop at words. Donald Trump resumed the offensive on his network Truth Social. He announced he had ended Musk’s government mission, now calling him “crazy.”

The president even threatened: “the simplest way to save billions and billions of dollars in our budget would be to cancel the subsidies and government contracts” benefiting Tesla and SpaceX.

In the context of upcoming elections, this statement sounds like a warning. Any disobedience could be very costly, even for tech giants.

Elon Musk, faithful to his direct style, replied with a message heavy with explosive insinuations. He claims that Donald Trump “is involved in the Epstein files” and argues that this is “the real reason these files have not been made public.”

No evidence currently corroborates this claim, but it marks a major escalation in the war between the two figures. Meanwhile, Musk announced that SpaceX “will immediately start decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft,” used by NASA for its missions to the ISS. If the announcement is confirmed, it could jeopardize some essential space cooperations for the United States.

This intensification of the conflict had immediate repercussions. On the stock market, Tesla’s shares, already undergoing a crisis, dropped by 14.04 %, losing more than 140 billion dollars of valuation and bringing the company below the symbolic 1 trillion dollar mark. If the quarrel continues, it could weaken relations between the state and its major technological partners. On one side, the government threatens its industrial allies. On the other, tech entrepreneurs speak out as full-fledged political actors.