The boat of friendship is overturned at any time, and a deep review of the whole plot of Trump and Musk's "love and kill each other"

Author: BitpushNews

Elon Musk and Donald Trump, the once high-profile political and business combination, are now experiencing a dramatic break.

On June 4th local time, Musk made a rare public difficulty on his social platform X (formerly Twitter), yelling that a core bill promoted by the Trump administration was a "disgusting product of deformity." The richest man in the world wrote: "I'm sorry, I can't stand it anymore. This huge, outrageous, and full of private goods is simply disgusting and deforming!" He even called on lawmakers to "kill the bill."

The next day, on June 5, Musk posted several tweets in a row to publicly tear Trump, and exposed shocking news: "Trump is in Epstein's file."

He also expressed his high profile that Trump should be impeached:

You should know that less than a year ago, Musk stood on the stage of Trump's campaign rally wearing a striking black "MAGA" hat, laughing at him as a "dark MAGA"; and Trump once regarded the tech billionaire as an ally and "his own people" on the road to retake the White House. In just a few months, the two went from intimate handshakes to open confrontation. The ups and downs of their relationship made people sigh that "the boat of friendship" could be overturned.

As the most eye-catching star in their respective fields, Trump and Musk's relationship has always been dramatic. From politics to business, they sometimes appreciate each other and sometimes face each other's tit-for-tat.

On the eve of this US presidential election (2024), Musk began to express his support for Trump, and the interaction between the two has become the focus of public opinion. On one side is the former president who vows to make a comeback, and on the other side is the world's richest man across electric vehicles, aerospace and social media. Two people who are known for their boldness and extraordinary approach quickly, but they are gradually drifting away in the struggle between power and interests.

As foreign media Axios said, these two strong men "have a conceited side in their personalities and think that they are not bound by conventional rules." Their alliance once boosted the Republican election, but senior observers have doubted how long this political "honeymoon" will last from the beginning, and the development today seems to confirm these doubts.

A list of key timelines

• September 28, 2023: Musk appeared on the U.S.-Mexico border and broadcast the current situation of the immigration wave in Eagle Pass, Texas, calling on the United States to "significantly expand legal immigration and accelerate approval on the one hand, and strictly block illegal entry on the other hand." Musk expressed his recognition of Trump's immigration proposition through practical actions, and also used this to criticize the Biden administration's ineffective border policies.
• May 24, 2024: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his campaign for president during a Twitter Spaces live broadcast hosted by Musk, but his activity was interrupted due to a technical failure. Musk had previously tended to support DeSantis in challenging Trump, but DeSantis's campaign trend continued to decline.
• July 13, 2024: Trump is suspected of assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania (gunshots spark chaos). A few minutes later, Musk made his first public statement on X to support Trump's re-election. This move marks Musk's official reversal to Trump's camp.
• August 12, 2024: Musk hosted a live broadcast of the dialogue with Trump on the X platform, which was described by the media as "an extended campaign speech." In the live broadcast, Musk suggested that if Trump wins the election, a "Government Efficiency Committee" should be established and he will lead it to reduce bureaucratic waste. Trump laughed and called it a "good idea." A week later, Musk posted: "I am willing to serve."
• October 5, 2024 (or late October): Musk is visiting the Trump campaign rally for the first time. He appeared in a black "MAGA" hat and said to cheering supporters: "As you all see, I am not only MAGA, I am the dark MAGA." Musk's high-profile embrace of this far-right subculture in Trump's camp caused an uproar in public opinion.
• October 19, 2024: Musk announced the issuance of a "daily award of $1 million" to voters in swing states through its "U.S. PAC", on the condition that the petition is signed to support freedom of speech and the right to hold a gun. This innovative move is seen as an unconventional means by Musk to influence voters with his wealth and help Trump.
• November 6, 2024: U.S. election day. Trump was predicted by the media that night to win the election and become "president-elect." Musk was invited to Mar-a-Lago to witness the victory with Trump.
• November 12, 2024: Trump announced that it will establish the Department of Government Efciency (DOGE), led by Musk and Republican political star Vivek Ramaswamy, as an independent consulting agency to cut government spending and streamline the bureaucracy. Musk thus obtained an unprecedented position of informal power in the new government.
• February 20, 2025: Musk made a high-profile debut at the conservative annual event CPAC as a Trump adviser and head of DOGE. He took the stage with a red chainsaw, calling it a "chain saw that cuts down bureaucrats" and vowed to chop off government spending, which attracted fanatical cheers from the audience. The move symbolizes his team-up with Trump to push the so-called "government slimming" agenda to the climax.
• April 6, 2025: There are reports that Musk has repeatedly persuaded Trump to give up launching a new round of trade tariff war on his allies, but it failed to work. News of Trump's insistence on raising tariffs has caused turmoil in the financial market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted, the global market value evaporated by trillions of dollars, and the sharp drop in US stocks has also damaged Musk's personal wealth. Observers pointed out that there was a rift between Trump and Musk, and the interests of both sides were not always consistent.
• May 30, 2025: Musk attended a farewell press conference with Trump at the White House. The "Tema Honeymoon Period" ended successfully on the surface: Trump praised Musk for "making revolutionary contributions to the country" in public, calling him a "patriot" and "my friend"; Musk expressed his gratitude to the president, saying that he "retired after success." However, on the same day he left, Musk secretly expressed his reservations about a key Trump bill.
• June 3, 2025: Musk, who has just been out of office in government for a few days, publicly bombarded the "Big Beautiful Bill" ("Big Beautiful Bill") that Trump has promoted on X. "Shame those who voted for it: You know in your heart that you have done something wrong!" Musk angrily scolded in the post. He accused the bill of being stuffed with unnecessary expenses, which would lead to a surge in fiscal deficits and demanded Congress to shoot the case. Musk's former support for Trump has evolved into a head-on confrontation at this moment.
• June 5, 2025: When Trump was asked by reporters in the Oval Office about Musk's statement, he rarely showed displeasure and said bluntly that he was "very disappointed" with Musk. "Look, Elon and I had a good relationship," Trump said. "But now I'm not sure if it's better... He praised me before, but he didn't attack me directly - it's probably time to attack me next. But I'm really disappointed, I've helped him a lot." Trump hinted that Musk opposed the bill because it planned to cancel electric vehicle subsidies and harm Tesla's interests. He also mocked Musk for "starting missing after leaving my team", saying that many resigned officials would "love and hate" - the relationship between Tmama fell to freezing point.

From alienation to alliance: Musk turns to rightist politics

Musk's interaction with Trump has not been smooth sailing until the second half of 2023. As early as Trump's first run and administration, Musk had a complicated attitude towards the real estate tycoon and president: he was briefly invited to serve as Trump's economic adviser in 2017, but left in anger because he was dissatisfied with Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Since then, the two have publicly opposed the tune on some issues. Even in July 2022, Trump mocked Musk as a "bull artist" at a rally -at that time Musk expressed his tendency to support Florida Gov. DeSantis and believed that Trump should "retire after success", which aroused Trump's dissatisfaction.

However, starting from 2023, Musk's political trajectory has changed significantly. This year, Musk gradually shifted from the liberal camp to the conservative stance. His criticism of the Democratic administration is becoming increasingly sharp, and he frequently criticizes President Biden and his policies on social media and in public. For example, Musk mocked Biden for "the real president is a teleprompt machine", "If someone accidentally knocks the teleprompt machine, the scene will be as naughty as the movie "Ace Announcer". This metaphor is not only a mocking Biden's public mistake, but also an allusion to the fact that he is just a puppet controlled by the staff in Musk's eyes. Musk also accused the Biden administration of allowing inflation, warning that "the United States is on a Venezuelan-style path." He bluntly stated that he, who had "overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party", was increasingly disappointed with the Democratic Party, believing that its policies were kidnapped by "radical left-wing ideas."

Musk's most intuitive dissatisfaction with the Biden administration is reflected in immigration, speech and industrial policies. In September 2023, Musk personally visited the U.S.-Mexico border to inspect the immigration wave. He appeared in Yingtan, a small Texas border town, wearing a cowboy hat, and broadcast live the scene of groups of immigrants wading across the river. Musk regards himself as an immigrant descendant and claims that he is "extremely pro-immigrant", but he advocates that the United States "will not only significantly increase the number of legal immigrants and speed up approvals, so that diligent and upright people can come to the United States more easily; but also eliminate those who enter the country illegally."

This argument of "two-handed" coincides with Trump's immigration policy direction: Trump has always cracked down on illegal immigrants and declared that he welcomed "selection of the best" legal immigrants. Musk took this opportunity to criticize the Biden administration's ineffective border control, saying that the current influx of large numbers of smugglers is overwhelming the border communities. He introduced Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez, who complained that border residents "feel abandoned." Musk's tough voice on immigration has won praise from Republicans, heralding his increasingly closer stance with Trump's camp.

At the same time, as the new owner of social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Musk regards himself as a "freedom of speech" fighter and criticizes his former management team for banning Trump's account. Shortly after the acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, Musk unblocked Trump's account, which was banned for inciting congressional riots, and publicly invited Trump to return. Although Trump had not yet left his "Truth Social" platform at that time, Musk's move won praise among conservatives and was seen as a powerful counterattack against the "conservative voices of big tech companies censoring". Musk also led the exposure of the so-called "twitter documents", revealing the Biden administration's behind-the-scenes requests the platform to suppress sensitive content, supporting Trump's camp's allegations of "deep government" censorship. These actions make Musk the standard-bearer on the issue of freedom of speech on the right-wing American.

As the New York Times reported, since Musk openly took the sidelines, users on the X platform have been "more pushed to Musk himself and other right-wing accounts." Musk not only created his conservative image, but also invisibly helped Trump to build momentum.

But until mid-2023, Musk still did not officially embrace Trump. DeSantis, the main opponent in the Republican Party to challenge Trump, was attracting much attention, and Musk once had a big eye for the younger politician. In May 2023, DeSantis chose to announce his candidacy in a Twitter Spaces audio live broadcast hosted by Musk. However, after the live broadcast began, technical failures frequently appeared, and the sound was intermittent and chaotic, which made DeSantis' high-profile debut a laughing stock. Although Musk ended up embarrassingly, his attitude of joining forces with DeSantis to "attack" Trump has already aroused the latter's vigilance. Trump privately mocked Musk, "while saying that he had never voted for the Republican Party, he told me that he had voted for me, he was such a liar." DeSantis's momentum is declining in the summer of 2023.

Musk gradually realized that the hearts of the grassroots Republican Party are still closely following Trump. As smart as he began to reexamine his political betting in the 2024 election.

Join hands to return to the world: From "Holding Special" to Dark MAGA

As 2024 enters the second half of the year, the US election campaign is becoming increasingly fierce. Despite the lawsuit, Trump is far ahead in the Republican Party. Musk made an unexpected and reasonable decision at this time: instead, he fully supported Trump's comeback battle. The fuse was an emergency - On July 13, 2024, Trump encountered a security emergency at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and was hurriedly protected and stepped down by special service personnel. It is reported that there were suspected gunshots at the scene, which caused no casualties but caused panic. This incident excited Trump's supporters and also touched Musk.

On the same day, Musk posted a post on the X platform, officially and publicly supporting Trump's campaign for president. From now on, this maverick entrepreneur and this unruly politician began to fight side by side.

Musk's way of embracing Trump's camp is a multi-pronged approach. First of all, he generously donated money to provide fire support for Trump's re-emerging campaign. According to data from the Federal Election Commission, Musk donated up to $238.5 million to groups supporting Trump through the "US PAC" super political action committee he founded. This day's number made him become the biggest funder of the Republican camp in the 2024 election cycle.

Musk's contributions include a creative move: he launched an online petition calling on voters to sign their signatures to support the First Amendment (freedom of speech) and the Second Amendment (right to guns) and promised to give $1 million a daily draw to signers in swing states. This unprecedented "spending money to assist in election" activity has attracted great attention. Some critics questioned that this was equivalent to using money to buy votes, but for conservative voters who were deeply concerned about speech control and gun ownership, the top-up draw was more like a carnival. As the commentary said, Musk used his wealth and influence to canvass for Trump to "break the conventions of American politics."

Musk also played a unique role in the building platform. In August 2024, he invited Trump to visit the X platform for a live online conversation.

This is the first time Trump has returned to the mainstream social platform to publicly make a public voice after being "banned" by major social media. As we all know, Trump could only publish messages through his own Truth Social, and Musk's invitation brought him back to hundreds of millions of audiences. The live broadcast of the two was described by the outside world as "an extended version of the campaign rally": Trump spoke endlessly during the live broadcast, promoting his policy propositions, and was rarely interrupted by Musk.

For Musk, he is happy to act as a green leaf to let Trump show off his heart, and at the same time he takes the opportunity to discuss issues he cares about. For example, Musk proposed in the live broadcast that if Trump wins the election, he should set up a committee that focuses on "government efficiency", and jokingly said that he might as well be allowed to take charge. Trump smiled and said it was a "good idea" and joked that "maybe he should name it Department of Government Efciency, DOGE" (the same name as Musk's beloved Dogecoin).

A few days later, Musk solemnly stated on X: "I am willing to serve." This is both like a loyalty to Trump, and it also seems to imply that he has bound his personal reputation to Trump's political fate.

At the end of the October campaign, Musk went to the front and cheered for Trump. That month he appeared in several large-scale Trump rallies, which attracted high attention from the media. One of the classic appearances happened in Madison Square Garden, New York: Musk appeared on the stage wearing an all-black "MAGA" baseball cap and a T-shirt with the words "Occupy Mars" printed on it, introducing himself: "Everyone has seen that I am not only a MAGA, but I am also a dark, Gothic MAGA." The hardcore Trump supporters in the audience burst into warm applause and cheers.

This slightly weird "Dark MAGA" manifesto quickly became a hot topic on social media. The so-called "dark MAGA" was originally a marginal meme on the Internet, with far-right and apocalyptic colors, emphasizing the use of more radical and tough measures to "make America great again." Musk's public embrace of this label has surprised and even uneasy many moderate and conservatives, but it has also made Trump's most fanatical basic base happy. Some analysts pointed out that Musk's move is equivalent to showing kindness to the most extreme supporters of Trump's camp and portraying himself as a "comrade" who fights side by side with them.

Musk's high-profile "stand" also includes going to the campaign rally to endorse Trump.

On October 5, 2024, he appeared at a Trump rally in Iowa while wearing the red "Make America Great Again" hat under Trump's signature, which sparked media attention. Musk said bluntly on the stage: "As you can see, I am not only MAGA

• I am 'Dark MAGA'." These words became a topic of public opinion for a while, and some people joked that the two of them looked like an absurd reality show
• "the president and his tech madman partner." The Washington Post commented that Musk has jumped to become the "first friend" of Trump's campaign, and is in public and attracting attention.

Political honeymoon: Advancement and mutual praise

After Trump won the 2024 election, his relationship with Musk reached its peak and was dubbed by the media as the "billionaire co-governance" in politics. Not only did Trump frequently praise Musk in public, he also "tailored" an informal official position for him for the first time. A week after the election, Trump announced the appointment of Musk to lead the newly established "Doctor of Government Efficiency (DOGE)" to "cut expenses and cut bloated" with senior government officials. This position so close to the center of presidential power is unprecedented for a business person who has not been authorized for election.

"Axios" bluntly stated that this made Musk the "most powerful non-elected person in American history."

On January 20, 2025, Trump was sworn in as president in Washington and started his second term. According to US media reports, Musk was invited to attend the inauguration ceremony that day and sat in the guest area of ​​the ceremony with two other technology giants Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. These Silicon Valley celebrities who were regarded as political enemies by Trump in the past are now gathered to watch the ceremony, which is intriguing. For Musk, this is his first public appearance on state occasion as a president's "confidant".

Shortly after the inauguration ceremony, Musk quickly took office and entered the White House as a special counsel and a special government employee to preside over the work of DOGE.

In the early days of Trump's administration, Musk became a storied figure in Washington. He and Trump use each other and reward each other, creating a short and high-profile "honeymoon period". Trump never forgot to bring Musk out and praise him on almost every occasion, praising him for being "extremely smart", "amazingly energetic" and being able to innovate the government with business thinking. At a White House cabinet meeting, Trump thanked Musk for "contributing to the country to endure humiliation" in front of all officials, calling him "a patriot and my friend." Musk, who was sitting aside, wore a striking red MAGA cap and nodded slightly shyly.

Some participants recalled that several ministers who had rifted against Musk, led by Trump, also raised their glasses and boasted that the streamlining action he led was "full of fruitful results". This kind of collective flattery for Musk is rare in Washington, and it was once a fun story.

Musk's actual actions in the Trump administration are also eye-catching. He took a series of "dramatic" actions in a decisive manner: requiring government agencies to submit budget cut plans, freeze some civil servant recruitment, suspend funding for several federal projects, etc.

It is revealed that Musk boasted to Trump that he could save the federal government at least $2 trillion in spending through DOGE. However, ideals are full and reality is skinny. Although Musk is not afraid of offending people to "operate" multiple departments, in the end, as of May 2025, he cut less than 0.5% of federal annual expenditures - equivalent to tens of billions of dollars - a far cry from the 2 trillion target.

Despite this, Trump still supported Musk's efforts and held a farewell press conference for him at the end of May. At the Oval Office press conference, Trump and Musk had a great time, thanked each other in front of the camera, and interpreted a breakup that might have a resignation storm into a brotherly relationship of "a mutual appreciation and a happy cooperation."

However, some signs show that Musk's situation in Washington is not as glorious as he looks. Politico disclosed that the White House is intertwined with love and hate for Musk. On the one hand, Trump and some confidants highly praised the innovative ideas he brought; on the other hand, many officials privately complained that Musk "does his own way and does not abide by the rules", often directly expressing policy insights to the outside world without passing through the staff system, and publishing an unauthorized government reduction plan on X, catching cabinet members and the team of chief of staff off guard. What worries some Trump allies even more is that Musk is increasingly becoming a new tool for Democrats to attack the Trump administration - Democrats have whipped him into the "scarecrow" of the Trump administration, taking the opportunity to mobilize their own voters.

For example, in a major Supreme Court judge by-election in Wisconsin in the spring of 2025, the Democratic camp criticized Musk for spending huge sums of money to influence the election, saying the election was a referendum on the "extreme billionaire." As a result, the Republican-backed conservative candidate lost 10 percentage points, and some members of the Trump team blamed Musk for the rebound sentiment. All signs show that Musk's "double-edged sword" not only brings opportunities, but also burys hidden worries.

Despite the noise, Musk and Trump still show closeness on the public level. Not only did the two meet frequently in the White House to discuss the agenda, Trump also specially arranged some highlight moments to highlight their "alliance". On November 19, 2024, Trump flew to Texas in person to accompany Musk to watch the launch of the SpaceX starship. The picture of the president and the richest man looking up at the Rockets taking off quickly became the front pages of major media. This scene is interpreted as the two jointly declaring the vision of "technology makes America great again", and it also implies that Trump reciprocates Musk - supporting his business career.

At the CPAC conference in February 2025, Musk took the stage to give a speech as a special guest. He held up the red chainsaw and laughed at the audience, "This is our weapon to cut towards bureaucracy!" Interestingly, with him, Javier Milei, the newly elected populist president of Argentina, who simply gave the chainsaw as a gift to Musk. Conservative activists in the audience waved the flag with Dogecoin image and the words "Musk 2024" to cheer the names of the two. The Associated Press commented that this situation shows that Musk has become a symbol of Trump's conservative movement, "the world's richest man who once supported Obama and Biden, but now he is standing in the center of the right-wing political stage in the United States."

Undercurrents and gaps: From trade wars to AI regulation

However, no matter how hot the honeymoon is, it cannot hide the gradually emerging differences. In the spring of 2025, a series of policy contradictions began to test Trump's alliance with Musk.

The first thing to bear is trade and tariff policies with China. As we all know, Trump’s tough trade attitude towards China is his landmark agenda, while Musk’s Tesla is deeply rooted in the Chinese market, and the two have different interests. In early April, Trump suddenly announced that he would raise tariffs significantly on a number of countries, including allies, citing protection of U.S. jobs and cutting trade deficits. After the news came out, the global market was in an uproar: major stock indexes fell sharply and investors' panic spread.

As Tesla relies on global supply chains and the Chinese market, Musk's personal wealth also suffered a heavy blow when Trump's tariff "stick" was swung down - it was reported that during the stock market plunge, Musk's net worth once fell below the $300 billion mark.

Musk is not waiting to die. Reports revealed that on the weekend after the tariff policy was announced, he contacted Trump directly many times, begging the president to stop and withdraw his decision to impose a full tariff. Musk stressed that the trade war has caused "turmoil and chaos" in the international market, and that continuing to escalate will threaten the US economy and harm the interests of Trump's financial backers. But Trump turned a deaf ear and not only refused to stop, but also threatened to "increase the tariffs by another 50%" one Monday.

Musk's lobbying hit the wall. The Guardian commented that Musk's failed lobbying tariffs was seen as "a proof of the growing rift between the two." This tariff storm shows that Trump and Musk's ideology differences are irreconcilable on issues involving nationalist economic routes: the former insists on promoting trade protection, while the latter defends globalization and corporate interests.

Another potential contradiction is the artificial intelligence (AI) policy. Musk has long been cautious and even vigilant about AI, repeatedly warning it of "possible survival threats" and called for regulation to ensure AI security. The Trump administration tends to deregulate and encourage competition on AI issues. During Trump's 2024 campaign, he promised to completely overturn Biden's AI regulatory framework, accusing the Democratic administration of "shackles on innovation and forcibly stuffing the extreme leftist philosophy."

Trump said he would ensure that AI development is "rooted in free speech and human well-being", implying that companies should be self-disciplined and reduce government intervention. In stark contrast, Musk not only publicly supports stricter AI security legislation, but also rarely favors a California bill to review AI algorithms (although the bill was eventually rejected). He fears that unrestrained development of AI could lead to ethical and security disasters. It can be imagined that in the cutting-edge field of AI regulation, the differences between the two are just hidden and unreleased. Once Trump really advances the abolition of AI security measures, whether Musk will stand up and oppose it will become a potential friction point for both sides.

In addition, Musk and Trump also have a collision of opinions on the issue of fiscal deficit and spending. Musk is an entrepreneur who advocates streamlined and efficient, and is naturally vigilant about government deficits and debts; Trump is more focused on large-scale tax cuts and high spending to stimulate the economy, and is not afraid of federal debt.

At the beginning of 2025, the Trump administration launched an ambitious "big and beautiful bill", which included the extension of 2017 tax cuts, additional military spending and border security funds, and significantly increased fiscal spending. The independent congressional body estimates that the plan will add $2.4 trillion in debt in the next 10 years.

Musk is deeply worried about this. He reminded Trump in private that doing so would be like letting him dig out the payment he had worked hard on DOGE. Entering May, Musk is ready to step down as planned, but he still does not forget to sound the alarm about budget issues. He gradually made this uneasy public: he frequently forwarded deficit warning messages on X, saying bluntly that "the United States is heading towards debt slavery at full speed." Musk even hinted that if the government continues to increase debts, the United States will sooner or later experience the consequences of fiscal out-of-control.

The White House and Republican top leaders initially tried to downplay these signs of disagreements. Presidential press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to media inquiries: Musk's dissatisfaction with the budget is just a "small disagreement in the overall rapport" and does not change the president's determination to push the bill through. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that no matter what Musk said, Congress will implement the president's legislative agenda. However, it is undeniable that some of Trump’s cronies have begun to regard Musk as an “uncontrolled variable” or even a “political baggage”.

Politico revealed that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and others were "extremely annoyed" by Musk's unauthorized criticism of the tax reform bill, and the presidential team had to call several senators overnight to appease Trump's support for the bill. Sources revealed that in mid-May, Trump had mentioned at an internal meeting that Musk would "retire after success" and allowed him to return to the business world after the end of his 130-day special employee term.

In fact, just in DOGE's final sprint, Tesla's profit plummeted 71% in the first quarter. Wall Street analysts have called on Musk to stop over-investment in politics and go back to save the declining Tesla stock price.

Musk himself admitted that the company needs him to invest more energy. Obviously, the conflict between the dual identities of "businessman and public servant" is making Musk in a dilemma, and Trump's camp is quietly making plans for the "post-Musk era".

Good times don't last long: the aftermath of open break and love

At the end of May 2025, Musk stepped down as special advisor to the Ministry of Government Efficiency as originally scheduled. He expressed his gratitude to Trump and his colleagues on social media, saying that "the mission is basically completed and you can go back and focus on your career."

White House officials stressed that Musk was only "the phased mission ended", and the president is still grateful to him and hopes to continue to receive his support in the future. On May 30, when Trump and Musk staged that kind of "farewell show" at the White House, the outside world may believe that the two will continue to maintain a friendly and cooperative relationship. After all, at the press conference, Trump praised Musk for being "magnificent", and Musk nodded repeatedly, looking like a harmonious scene of the monarch and his subjects.

However, just a few days later, this "honeymoon" relationship took a sharp turn. What triggered the conflict was the "big and beautiful bill" dispute mentioned above. Musk was already doubtful about Trump's fiscal plan, and when he was not in the government, he chose to publicly bombard him without hesitation.

In early June, he sent several stern-worded posts calling on Congress to snipe the bill. Musk denounced the bill to be full of "pork" (metaphorically irrelevant to private goods), which would cause the federal deficit to get out of control. He also mocked the lawmakers who supported the bill for "knowingly committing it." This kind of behavior of publicly criticizing the president's legislative agenda is unimaginable during the cooperation period between the two sides. Musk also deliberately identified his personal grievances: he did not directly attack Trump, but only targeted the policy itself. In his subsequent speech, he clarified that he did not object to the cancellation of electric vehicle subsidies, "as long as the disgusting "mountain of waste and expenditure" can be removed from the bill." He stressed his opposition to the excessive spending part of the bill, rather than the provisions that hurt Tesla's interests.

Trump initially responded through aides that he already knew Musk’s view on the bill, but that “will not change the president’s opinion in the slightest.” However, Musk's high-profile "reversal" undoubtedly made Trump angry.

In a media interview on June 5, Trump rarely criticized Musk by name, allowing the outside world to see the cold side of the former president when he turned against his former allies. "Elon once praised me in every way... He hasn't attacked me yet, but I'm sure I'll do it soon," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "Seriously, I'm very disappointed with Elon. I've helped him a lot."

This sentence reveals Trump's typical "trading-type" thinking: in his opinion, Musk deserves his own favors (financial status, political reputation), and he should return his absolute loyalty, and his criticism is ignorant of gratitude.

Trump further hinted that Musk opposes the bill because the bill wants to cancel the tax credit for electric vehicles, and he is escorting Tesla's interests. He also ridiculed Musk for "I can't sit still after leaving and want to come back to continue working." "Many people regret it after leaving our government. Some people will come back to serve, while others will turn against each other and become enemies." This series of statements is equivalent to an announcement: Trump and Musk's honeymoon officially ended, and the relationship between the two sides fell to freezing point.

As soon as Trump's tough words finished, Musk immediately responded on X, which slightly sarcastically echoed Trump's preference for the bill: "Let the austerity version of the Big and Beautiful Act win." On the one hand, he emphasized supporting the streamlined tax reform plan, and on the other hand, he insisted on cutting off waste expenses. This kind of tit-for-tat move has made the media use words such as "fighting fire" and "opening tearing". For a time, "Trump-Musk's breakup" became a hot topic in politics. Some comments joked that the relationship between the two was verified by a popular online saying: "The boat of friendship can be overturned at any time."

What is more noteworthy is that Trump and Musk's open rebellion is not an isolated incident, but a larger conflict within the Republican Party around the fiscal line. Musk's "deficit reduction" side actually gathered several tough conservatives in Congress who also strongly opposed Trump's super-large tax cuts and expenditure increases. These Republican senators claim to be "deficit hawks" and demand a big blow to the government's budget, which is split from Trump's camp.

Trump tried to maintain the unity within the party, privately persuaded opponents to "sell Musk for a face" and temporarily ignored his calls to advance the bill vote. Some White House aides downplayed Musk's complaints into "a single-time difference", claiming that the president and Musk "are still in harmony overall." But many Republicans in the Senate disdain for Musk. As an unknown senior senator said, "I don't think many senators really care about Elon's opinion... It's okay to listen. We are people who are serious about policies and have to be responsible for governing the country, but we don't have time to pay attention to his fingers." These words fully demonstrate the disapproval of the Washington establishment party's "outsiders" like Musk.

随着风波发酵，特朗普政府的新闻团队一度陷入被动。

Politico 报道，特朗普身边人近来普遍松了口气，认为马斯克适时退出核心圈对总统未尝不是好事。毕竟，随着2026 年国会中期选举将近，特朗普需要全党团结保住两院席位，不容再有任何掣肘。而马斯克这种桀骜不驯的「编外人士」，终究可能成为拖累甚至敌手。

就连特朗普本人，也在公开表示对马斯克「感到失望」后，放出意味深长的感慨：「以前我们关系很好，现在就不好说了。」 这句话在政治圈听来，无异于正式划清界限。

余波与展望：翻覆的小船还能稳住吗？

当下，特朗普与马斯克这场围绕政策与忠诚的冲突仍在持续发酵。支持特朗普的大批保守派媒体和意见领袖开始对马斯克口诛笔伐，指责他「忘恩负义」「站到人民对立面」。马斯克的拥趸则为偶像辩护，称他坚持原则，不做总统的应声虫。一时间，双方粉丝在社交媒体上激烈交锋，让人仿佛回到特朗普与前律师科恩决裂、或与前国防部长马蒂斯反目时的戏码。只不过这次撕裂的两端，一边是总统，一边是手握巨大舆论影响力的世界首富，其影响更为复杂。

舆论场上，不少媒体纷纷刊发深度分析，探究两人关系破裂的深层原因。《Axios》早在2024 年大选后就警告称，特朗普和马斯克这对「权力二人组」终有决裂风险，因为他们性格中都容不下当老二的一方。两人同样野心勃勃、桀骜不驯，短暂合作是各取所需，但长期共舞必有一山难容二虎之势。

《卫报》则点出更直接的利益考量：贸易战和财政之争证明，马斯克终究要维护其全球商业版图和个人财富，特朗普则必须迎合民粹和选民承诺。当两者发生冲突时，「友谊」就会让位于各自的算盘。也有评论以调侃口吻写道，也许「马斯克对特朗普的效忠有效期只有130 天」 ——正好是他担任特别政府雇员的期限。一旦期限已过，他便恢复自由身份，不再受团队约束，可以随心所欲表达不同意见。

值得玩味的是，特朗普本人对这场反目留有一丝转圜余地。在猛烈抨击马斯克之后，他话锋一转，又表示「我真想留他久一点…他干得很出色」 。白宫发言人随后也补充称，「总统很想留住埃隆，只是埃隆还有自己的公司要管」 。这一方面是否认决裂的严峻，另一方面似乎又流露出惋惜与不舍。从过往来看，特朗普并非没有与昔日盟友重修旧好的先例。例如与前竞选策略师班农、众议员马乔里·泰勒·格林等，反目后又在政治需要时重新站到一起。

因此，有分析认为，不排除特朗普和马斯克未来在某个节点再次握手言和。毕竟两人有着共同的政敌（如建制派民主党）和相似的对外理念（如对媒体和精英的不信任）。一位熟悉两人的人士对《纽约时报》表示：「这更像是一场华丽的斗舞而非真刀真枪的决斗。」

然而，无论未来走向如何，「特马联盟」的短暂生命周期已经为历史留下了一段发人深省的插曲。它展示了美国政治与商业力量奇异交织的瞬间：一位前总统愿意赋予一位商界领袖前所未有的影响力，而后者也一度倾尽资源协助总统东山再起。这种「相爱」背后，自有共同利益在驱动；而当利益不再契合时，「相杀」也在所难免。

特朗普素来「喜怒无常，喜新厌旧」 ，对他人忠诚的要求胜过一切；马斯克则惯于「特立独行，我行我素」 ，哪怕面对总统也不改其风格。这决定了两人的联盟从诞生之日起就埋下裂缝。

如今，这叶载着两位时代风云人物的「友谊之舟」已经倾覆在波涛中。或许未来某天，马斯克和特朗普会选择各取所需，再次握手搭船共渡——正如美国政坛经常上演的那样，没有永远的朋友也没有永远的敌人。但可以肯定的是，经过这一番相爱相杀，美国公众、媒体乃至政坛对这两人的真实关系已有了更清醒的认识。

正如有评论尖锐指出的：「特朗普的所谓忠诚，不过是要求别人无限忠于他；而马斯克的友情，终究也要服从利益的算计。」 这样充满讽刺意味的注解，大概就是这段政治传奇给予世人的最好警示。