Elon Musk calls on Americans to impeach Donald Trump – claims he's named in Epstein Files

Donald Trump with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Image: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The alliance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has exploded like a Space X rocket tonight with the pair engaging in a brutal mud-slinging match on social media.

Tension has been high since Elon Musk left the White House and began publicly laying into Trump's 'big beautiful bill' to finance the federal government.

And the dramatic fallout reached its peak tonight when Trump threatened to cut Musk's government contracts. In response, Musk claimed, without providing evidence, that Trump's administration hasn't released all the records related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein because Trump is mentioned in them.

He then sent a follow up post calling on Americans to impeach Donald Trump and place Vice President JD Vance in the White House instead.

The messy spat between the US President and the world's wealthiest man unfolded on their respective social media platforms after Trump was questioned about Musk's criticism of his spending bill during a White House meeting with Germany's new leader.

This occurred less than a week after they appeared together at the White House for a subdued farewell, where Trump thanked Musk for his brief stint in the U.S. government by presenting him with a symbolic but nonfunctional golden key.

Trump had largely remained silent as Musk vented his frustrations over the past few days on his social media platform X, criticising the president's so-called "Big Beautiful Bill."

However, Trump hit back on Thursday in the Oval Office, expressing his "great disappointment in Musk."

Musk shot back on social media in real-time. Trump, who was scheduled to spend Thursday discussing a potential end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, escalated the situation by taking to his own social media platform, Truth Social.

Musk has called on Americans to impeach Trump (Image: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

He threatened to utilise the US government to harm Musk's financial interests by targeting contracts held by his internet company Starlink and rocket company SpaceX.

"The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," Trump posted on his social media network.

"This just gets better and better," Musk swiftly responded on X. "Go ahead, make my day."

Musk then claimed, without providing evidence, that Trump was "in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!".

This insinuation tapped into long-standing suspicions among conspiracy theorists and online sleuths that incriminating and sensitive files in the government's possession have yet to be released.

The deepening rift unfolded rapidly, intensely, and very publicly, much like the beginning of their relationship.

It also quickly took a financial toll on Musk, even before Trump's threat. After Trump made remarks about Musk, Tesla's stock took a nosedive of over 10%, marking another significant fluctuation following the election.

The electric vehicle giant's shares initially surged in the aftermath of Trump's victory, subsequently lost those gains during Musk's involvement with DOGE, and then experienced a rebound post-Musk's April declaration to concentrate more intently on Tesla and his other ventures.

The relationship between politicians and their wealthy benefactors is often fraught with tension. Nonetheless, Musk's phenomenal financial support for Trump, pouring no less than $250 million into his campaign efforts, and Trump's subsequent allowance for Musk to wield substantial influence over government restructuring via the Department of Government Efficiency came to an abrupt end as their rapport deteriorated rapidly.

The pair engaged in a bitter public row on Thursday night (Image: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Musk, not one to mince words, delivered a particularly cutting barb to a president who harbours concerns about his voter popularity: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election," he declared brashly, adding, "Such ingratitude," in a subsequent statement.

Musk threw his support behind Trump shortly after a harrowing incident where the then-presidential hopeful narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Days later, the revelation of Musk's political action committee, rallying behind Trump's bid for office, hit the news circuits.

Musk rapidly ascended to become a close adviser and frequent companion to Trump, even jumping for joy behind him at an October rally. After Trump's victory, Musk was present as he took the presidential oath, joined him on Air Force One trips to Mar-a-Lago, enjoyed stays in the Lincoln Bedroom, and attended Cabinet meetings donning a MAGA cap.

Three months ago, in a display of solidarity, Trump bought a red Tesla from Musk right on the White House driveway amidst backlash against Musk's company.

Last week, Musk bid Trump adieu in a subdued Oval Office press conference, sporting a black eye he attributed to his son, yet it appeared symbolic of his tumultuous stint in government.

Trump, known for seizing chances to mock his detractors' looks, couldn't resist commenting on Thursday.

"I said, 'Do you want a little makeup? We'll get you a little makeup.' Which is interesting," Trump remarked.

These comments surfaced as Musk has been vocally criticising Trump's spending bill on social media, labelling it a "disgusting abomination."

and cautioning it could balloon the federal deficit.

"He hasn't said bad about me personally, but I'm sure that will be next," Trump mused in the Oval Office on Thursday, hinting at what might come. "But I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot."

Trump later claimed on social media that he had asked Musk to leave, stating that "Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave."

However, Musk's government employment status ultimately led to his departure.

"He just went CRAZY!" Trump exclaimed.

For some time, observers had speculated about the potential demise of the friendship between the two outspoken billionaires, known for exchanging insults online. In the end, it lasted less than a year.

On Thursday, Trump reflected on his relationship with Musk, saying it had been great, but mused: "I don't know if we will anymore."

He noted that some individuals who leave his administration often "miss it so badly" and "actually become hostile.

The MAGA dream team broke apart under the weight of Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' (Image: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

"It's sort of Trump derangement syndrome, I guess they call it," he commented.

Trump downplayed Musk's efforts to support his election campaign last year, including a $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes in Pennsylvania. Musk's willingness to spend heavily had appeared to establish him as a highly sought-after ally for Republicans, but his split with Trump raises questions about whether they or others will benefit from such campaign funding in the future.

According to Trump, Musk only developed an issue with the bill because it eliminates tax credits for electric vehicles.

Musk swiftly responded on his social media platform, saying "False," as the president continued speaking. "This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!" In a stinging rebuke, he blasted out that Trump could maintain the spending trimmings but should "ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill."

Trump aired his grievances, pinpointing his removal of Musk's choice, Jared Isaacman, to helm NASA—a move that came swiftly on the heels of Musk departing his government post.

Voicing his disapproval, Trump declared, "I didn't think it was appropriate," and labelled Isaacman "totally a Democrat."

Unfazed, Musk retorted with a barrage of social media posts highlighting Tweets from over 10 years ago in which Trump lambasted Republicans for their profligate expenditures—comments from a time when both were merely businessmen airing views online.

Musk provocatively questioned, "Where is the man who wrote these words?" and mockingly suggested, "Was he replaced by a body double! ?".