Political Revenge or Economic War: What’s Behind the Musk-Trump Scandal?
12 June 15:10
ANALYSIS
U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk became involved in a high-profile public conflict on social media, which escalated into mutual accusations, threats, and hints of a sex scandal.
In fact, the incident was a logical continuation of recent events: Musk distanced himself from politics, left the DOGE project he created, and criticized the main budget bill proposed by Trump. A new wave of confrontation began on Thursday, June 5, when Trump publicly acknowledged that his relationship with Musk had deteriorated significantly. According to the US President, he is disappointed in the billionaire, who has been criticizing his key domestic policy initiative for several days.
“Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we’re going to keep it,”
– Trump told reporters at the White House.
This statement came less than a week after they had been exchanging compliments and on the very day Musk completed his work as a special adviser to the government. Musk was quick to respond. In a post on social media site X, he wrote that Trump owes him a victory in the 2024 election.
“Without me, Trump would have lost. The Democrats would have held the House of Representatives and the Senate would have had a 51-49 advantage. Ingratitude is painful,”
– Elon Musk wrote.
This comment only escalated the confrontation. The conflict between Trump and his former ally and advisor escalated into a full-fledged public confrontation. Despite the fact that during his second presidential term, Trump instructed Musk to lead government reform through the newly created Office of Management and Budget, their relationship effectively ended after the businessman was fired.
What caused the conflict
The so-called official reason for the quarrel was the budget and tax bill proposed by Donald Trump. The document envisages a significant increase in the national debt – by trillions of dollars – despite the fact that Trump promised to reduce the budget deficit during his election campaign. This contradiction was publicly emphasized by Elon Musk, who reminded that the adoption of the bill would effectively nullify all his achievements in the DOGE project.
However, according to Axios, there is also a purely economic interest behind Musk’s reaction: the new law cuts tax incentives for electric vehicles, which directly threatens the profits of Tesla, Musk’s main company.
This was compounded by several other factors that journalists learned about. Musk was furious because
- he was not retained as a special advisor to the government;
- he was denied the use of Starlink to regulate air traffic in the United States;
- his candidate was not supported for the post of NASA administrator.
Thus, on June 5, Musk sharply escalated his rhetoric, calling Trump’s law a “vile abomination.” In response, Trump expressed his disappointment with Musk. At the same time, the billionaire said that it was his support that allowed Trump to win the election and publicly hinted at Trump’s connection to the Epstein case.
In response, Trump threatened to deprive Musk’s company of billions of dollars in government contracts. The public spat quickly escalated into a wave of mutual accusations and ultimatums.
According to The Washington Post, on June 6, Trump called Musk a “hard-core drug addict” in a conversation with close allies. And NBC News reports that Musk intends to destroy the political career of Trump and the entire Republican Party. He has even begun to speak openly about the creation of a third political force in the United States that will oppose both Republicans and Democrats.
In addition, in his post, Musk accused Trump of involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein case, claiming that this is the reason for the delay in the publication of some materials. However, he did not provide any evidence for his words. The White House commented on this statement as “an unpleasant outburst of emotion on Elon’s part,” explaining it as an insult because his business interests were not taken into account in the presidential bill.
Jeffrey Epstein is an American financier and multimillionaire who became involved in one of the most high-profile sex scandals of the 21st century. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to charges of involving minors in prostitution in Florida and received a lenient sentence of 13 months in prison with the right to work. This lenient sentence caused widespread outcry and suspicion among high-ranking patrons.
In 2019, US federal authorities arrested Epstein again on charges of sexually exploiting dozens of underage girls in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005. The investigation revealed that Epstein organized a system of recruiting girls who subsequently became victims of sexual abuse – not only by him, but also by his friends and “clients.”
Particular attention was drawn to the so-called sex parties that Epstein held at his estates, including a private island in the Caribbean. According to the victims’ testimonies and some documents, these events could have been attended by prominent politicians, businessmen, scientists, and representatives of royal families. The media mentioned the names of Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton, billionaire Leslie Wexner, and others, although they all deny any involvement in the crimes.
on August 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell in New York. Officially, the death was ruled a suicide by hanging, but the circumstances of the death raised numerous suspicions, especially given that the prison’s surveillance system malfunctioned the night it happened.
After his death, the investigation continued: law enforcement officers confiscated numerous documents, photos and videos from his estate. Epstein’s main accomplice was named Gislaine Maxwell, who was arrested in 2020 and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for organizing a child sex trafficking ring. Epstein’s case still raises numerous questions, especially about the circle of influential people who may have been involved in his criminal activities.
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SpaceX, Starlink, and a “completely different CEO”
Political expert and managing partner of the National Anti-Crisis Group Taras Zagorodniy commented on the escalating conflict between US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk in an exclusive commentary for . According to the expert, such a conflict could have serious consequences, especially for Musk himself. According to Zahorodnyi, Musk has no real leverage over Trump, despite his wealth and technology projects. The expert believes that the conflict with the head of state is a strategic mistake.
“The service that has already been provided is no longer worth anything. Trump is the president, he has received contracts, capitalization, and nothing else he can claim. The state is stronger than any oligarch, even one with as much money as Musk. There are always mechanisms that allow you to press the right points,”
– Zahorodnyi is convinced.
The political scientist drew special attention to the fact that Musk’s companies are deeply integrated into government programs, especially in the defense sector.
“Musk is a Pentagon contractor. For Starlink, SpaceX, and many other areas. And there are special legal regimes there: if a national security issue is raised, Musk can come to his company and find that there is a completely different director,”
– the expert says.
According to the expert, it was especially dangerous to mention the case of Jeffrey Epstein.
“This is a very slippery topic. Many people in politics and business want to forget about it. When Musk mentions it, he threatens a lot of influential people. This could end badly. In fact, the fate of Epstein himself is indicative,”
– Zagorodniy is convinced.
The expert notes that the authorities have enough tools to “explain” to the billionaire where his limits are.
“I see that Musk has started to retreat. I think he has already been pressured. He started threatening to stop flights, and he was most likely told that it was better to keep quiet. Trump is stronger, he has the state apparatus and security forces behind him,”
– says Taras Zahorodniy.
Donald Trump vs Elon Musk: who to bet on
It is worth noting that Elon Musk primarily has financial resources that can be used to support Trump’s political opponents, both in the presidential race and in the fight for seats in Congress. Trump has already warned that the consequences for Musk would be “very serious.”
In addition, Musk owns the social network X (formerly Twitter), which could become a mouthpiece for criticizing Trump. To this is added influence through business circles and support among a significant number of his supporters, even if this base has recently decreased.
Donald Trump, in turn, has levers of power that can hurt Musk’s companies. First of all, these are government contracts, which are worth billions and can be revised, reduced or canceled. However, sometimes this can also hit the state, as some of Musk’s projects, particularly in space and defense, have virtually no alternatives.
Another important tool is government regulation. If desired, the government can make life much more difficult for Musk’s companies through inspections, licensing, restrictions, or fines. It is also possible that investigations could be initiated against Musk himself, from issues of personal behavior to the activities of his startups like DOGE.
And, of course, we should not forget about Trump’s media influence. He has long been known as a public figure who spares no time and effort in personal attacks on social media, especially when it comes to his opponents.
The Epstein case and other accusations
Musk’s accusation of Trump’s adherence to the Epstein case is very loud. However, sources in the US presidential administration emphasized that the documents that mentioned Trump had already been declassified, and no charges had been brought against him. One of the interlocutors of CNN drew attention to the contradictory nature of Musk’s actions:
“If Elon really believed that Trump was involved with Epstein, then why did he spend six months with him and write that he ‘loves him as much as a heterosexual can love a heterosexual’?”
In addition to his personal attacks, Elon Musk also criticized Trump’s economic policy, in particular his customs strategy. According to him, it could lead to a recession in the second half of the year.
And then – even sharper: Musk has not publicly ruled out Trump’s impeachment and the transfer of power to Vice President Jay DeVance. The US President responded by saying that he did not mind the criticism:
“I don’t mind Musk criticizing, but he should have done it months ago.”
What are the consequences?
The confrontation could result in serious losses for both Musk and Trump. Musk was one of the most generous donors to the 2024 election campaign and promised to support Republicans in the upcoming 2026 elections.
The consequences for Musk are already tangible: Tesla shares have lost value after Musk’s loud political statements. And the prospect of losing government contracts could cause billions of dollars in losses to his business.
As for Trump, no recent opinion polls have been released to indicate a drop in his rating as a result of the conflict. However, it seems that the current US president exists in his own personal dimension, which is not always subject to external analysis. What is certain, however, is that his economic and foreign policies affect his popularity much more than the conflict with Musk.
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