Tech Titan Elon Musk Rebels Against Trump to Break US Political System

The falling out between President Donald Trump and tech magnate Elon Musk began well before their public spat erupted across social media on June 5. Musk, who poured an unprecedented $288 million into Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign, was once so influential in the White House that insiders dubbed him the “co-president.” But his brief tenure in government saw him clash with nearly every senior administration figure—Secretary of State Marco Rubio, trade advisor Peter Navarro, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent among them. Many of these confrontations occurred within earshot of Trump himself—or unfolded directly in the public eye on Musk’s own social media platform, X.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by The White House, https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/pdm/

Donald Trump and Elon Musk

The unraveling of their “bromance” was visible in the digital silence between the two. By May, Politico noted that Trump had scrubbed any mention of Musk from his posts on Truth Social. Musk, for his part, still referenced Trump sporadically on X but shifted his focus to Tesla, which had suffered a steep decline amid its founder’s political foray. In both the US and Europe, Tesla dealerships and vehicles became targets of arson. Its stock and revenues plummeted.

On May 30, Musk’s 130-day stint as a "special government employee"—a role allowing him to serve without a salary—formally ended. According to Axios, the Trump administration briefly explored legal workarounds to extend his term but eventually abandoned the idea, much to Musk’s chagrin. The parting was ceremonious: Trump handed Musk a symbolic key to the White House, and Musk pledged continued informal support, particularly on reducing the national debt.

Yet behind the scenes, tensions simmered. Just days before, CBS had aired clips from an interview in which Musk harshly criticized Trump’s legislative cornerstone—the “Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB). The sweeping package proposed extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay, raising the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, and granting new deductions and credits, including child tax credits and breaks on car loan interest. It also earmarked $150 billion in new military spending and $175 billion for immigration enforcement, including the continued construction of the southern border wall.

Musk’s critique was fierce and sustained. He called the bill “a disgusting abomination” and warned it would balloon the federal deficit to $2.5 trillion, saddling Americans with an unsustainable debt load. Nonpartisan analyses by the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated the bill could add $3.8 trillion to the deficit by 2034. For Musk, this threatened to undo the modest success his government efficiency agency, DOGE, had achieved in cutting spending—$175 billion, far short of the $1 trillion he had promised.

What reportedly stung Musk most, however, was the bill’s elimination of tax incentives for electric vehicles—a blow to Tesla’s business. According to Axios, the company had spent over $240,000 lobbying to protect these credits, to no avail. The final straw came when Musk’s hand-picked candidate for NASA chief, Jared Isaacman, was rejected—reportedly after intervention from White House personnel director Sergio Gor, with whom Musk had also quarreled.

Soon after, Musk launched a provocative poll on X: “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?” he wrote referring to those alienated by both Republicans and Democrats. He added, “Trump has three and a half years left. I have over 40,” hinting at a longer-term political vision (though constitutionally barred from the presidency as a naturalized citizen born in South Africa). As much as 81% of respondents supported the idea—though it remains unclear how many were eligible US voters.

Musk began reposting past Republican criticisms of deficit spending, asking what had happened to those once-principled voices. Trump responded with fire, accusing the “burnt-out” Musk of having “lost his mind” and calling for an end to federal subsidies and contracts tied to Musk’s companies.

While the dispute may appear to center on a legislative disagreement, insiders say the rift is deeper and more ideological. Musk entered politics as a libertarian idealist—preaching minimal government interference, free speech, and deregulation. Trump, on the other hand, remains a transactional dealmaker, focused on securing Republican victories in the 2026 midterms.

Efforts to de-escalate are underway. CNN reported that Trump’s advisors were blindsided when Musk alluded to the president’s alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein—a move that made the conflict personal. Still, the Trump camp is planning a conciliatory phone call with Musk on June 6, according to Politico. Public voices have also called for a truce: rapper Kanye West urged his “bros” to stop feuding, and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman tweeted that reconciliation would benefit “our great country.” Musk replied simply: “You’re not wrong.” Trump, however, told ABC News he has “no interest” in speaking with Musk, claiming the billionaire had “lost touch with reality.”

Musk’s break with Trump threatens to fracture the Republican base, potentially pulling libertarian-leaning voters and donors away from Trump-backed candidates. If pushed far enough, Musk could use his vast wealth to support rival campaigns—including Democratic ones. Yet analysts caution that Musk’s recent political interventions, like his failed attempt to sway the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, have had limited impact.

Skepticism also surrounds Musk’s talk of launching a new party. Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Party was founded in 1912, but then it dissolved within four years. Musk lacks Roosevelt’s political weight and appears more motivated by personal vendetta than enduring vision.

The US electoral system is designed to resist third-party breakthroughs, operating on a winner-takes-all model that favors two-party dominance. Even the Libertarian Party, the largest third party, has never won a major election.

Musk has resources—but lacks the political infrastructure and coherent ideology required to build a lasting party. Simply stating, “We’re not Democrats or Republicans,” is not enough in a deeply polarized society.