President Donald Trump threatened to cut government contracts with billionaire Elon Musk’s companies, and Mr. Musk said that Mr. Trump should be impeached, turning their once close relationship into a fierce war of words on social media.

The tension began when President Trump criticized the Tesla CEO in the Oval Office on June 5. Within hours, the once-close relationship had broken down in public view, as the world’s most powerful man and the world’s richest man attacked each other on both Truth Social and X.

“The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to end Elon’s government subsidies and contracts,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Billionaire Elon Musk stands next to US President Donald Trump during a press conference in the Oval Office on May 30. (Photo: Reuters)

Wall Street investors dumped shares of electric carmaker Tesla as its stock closed down 14.3%, wiping out about $150 billion in market value. This was Tesla’s biggest one-day drop in history.

Minutes after the market closed, Mr. Musk responded “yes” to a post on social media platform X, saying that Mr. Trump should be impeached. Mr. Trump’s Republican Party holds majorities in both houses of Congress and is highly unlikely to impeach him.

The feud between the two began days ago, when Mr. Musk denounced President Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill. The White House chief initially remained silent while Mr. Musk lobbied to kill the bill, saying it would add too much to the country’s $36.2 trillion debt.

On June 5, Mr. Trump broke his silence, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he was “very disappointed” in Mr. Musk.

“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we still have that,” Trump said.

As Mr Trump spoke, Mr Musk responded immediately with increasingly strident posts on social media platform X.

“Without me, Trump would have lost the election. How ungrateful,” Musk wrote.

The world’s richest man spent nearly $300 million to support Mr Trump and other Republicans in last year’s election.

In another post, Mr. Musk said that Mr. Trump’s special tariffs will push the US into recession by the end of this year.

Cracks are full of danger

In addition to Tesla, billionaire Musk also runs the space rocket company SpaceX and the satellite unit Starlink.

Mr. Musk said that because of President Trump’s threats, he would begin retiring SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Dragon is the only American spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts to the International Space Station.

Before Mr Musk left the administration last week, his influence had waned after a series of clashes with several cabinet members over his cuts to their agencies.

For President Trump, the fight is the first major rift between him and a top adviser since taking office for his second term.

After serving as the Republican Party’s largest donor during the 2024 campaign season, billionaire Musk became one of President Trump’s most prominent advisers as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has led a controversial effort to reduce the federal workforce and cut spending.

Mr. Musk is a regular at the White House and has made numerous appearances on Capitol Hill, sometimes bringing his young son along.

The ongoing feud between the two could make it harder for Republicans to retain control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. In addition to campaign funding, Mr. Musk has a huge online following and has helped connect Mr. Trump with parts of Silicon Valley and wealthy donors.

Billionaire Musk said he would cut political funding in the future.

Immediately after Mr. Trump’s remarks in the Oval Office, Mr. Musk created a poll of his 220 million followers on social media X: “Is it time to form a new political party in America that truly represents the middle 80%?”