The American president Donald Trump is openly arguing with Elon Musk on Thursday evening. The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla was still a close partner of the American government a week ago, but now the president is threatening to cancel government contracts with Musk.
“That’s the easiest way to cut costs,” Trump sneers in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
The dispute between Trump and Musk arose after the latter criticized an economic plan by Trump. According to Musk, the so-called big beautiful bill undoes the work of the American Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Through DOGE, Musk has sharply cut into the American civil service in recent months to save costs.
With Trump’s economic plan, the national debt is expected to rise further. Much to the displeasure of Musk, who called the big beautiful bill a “monstrosity” on X. At the end of last month, he stopped at DOGE.
The American president claimed on Thursday at a press conference in the presence of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Musk knew everything about the plans. The Tesla CEO contradicts this on X. He accuses Trump of lying and says that he has never seen the big beautiful bill.
After the press conference, Trump continued his criticism of his former partner on his social media platform Truth Social. For example, the president claims that Musk did not resign, but was sent away. There is nothing true about that, the billionaire counters on X.
In addition, Trump is threatening to put a stop to Musk’s government contracts. Musk’s companies work for, among other things, the American Ministry of Defense. For example, SpaceX helps Defense satellites into space. Musk challenges Trump to put his money where his mouth is.
According to Trump, Musk is angry because the tax benefits for electric cars are expiring. “I don’t know if we will have a good relationship anymore,” the president said. Musk has always said that Tesla can take a beating. He also said on Thursday that scrapping the EV benefits can remain part of the plan as far as he is concerned.
The billionaire has received a lot of criticism in recent months for his support for Trump. On X, Musk states that Trump would never have won the election without his help. He calls the president “ungrateful.”