WASHINGTON, USA — President Donald Trump has warned tech billionaire Elon Musk of “serious consequences” if he moves to politically punish Republican lawmakers who support the administration’s controversial spending bill, intensifying a public rift between the two once-close allies.
The president issued the warning during an interview with NBC News on Saturday, June 7, 2025, just days after a spectacular public fallout between the U.S. leader and the Tesla and SpaceX CEO played out on social media.
“He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” Trump said, responding to reports that Musk is being encouraged to fund primary challengers against Republicans who back the proposed legislation, a cornerstone of Trump’s second-term agenda.
The so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” — a sweeping spending and tax measure — has drawn fierce criticism from fiscal conservatives and prompted Musk to describe it as an “abomination” that would endanger the U.S. economy.
Trump’s response came with a pointed rebuke of the South African-born billionaire.
“He’s disrespectful,” the president said, adding that he had “no” interest in reconciling with Musk and “no intention of speaking to him.”
The rupture between the world’s most powerful man and the world’s richest has stunned Washington and upended political calculations within the Republican Party.
Musk was one of the largest private donors to the GOP in the 2024 election cycle and had briefly served in Trump’s administration as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Their relationship unravelled within days of Musk’s departure from the post, culminating in an extraordinary series of social media posts on Thursday, June 5, 2025, in which Musk levelled explosive — and since deleted — allegations about Trump’s connection to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In one post on his platform X, Musk claimed, “Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files,” suggesting the president appeared in unreleased government documents relating to Epstein’s criminal network. Musk offered no evidence and later deleted the posts.
Speaking to NBC, Trump dismissed the claim as “old news,” adding, “Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it.”
He reiterated that he never visited Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where prosecutors alleged underage girls were trafficked.
Trump and Epstein were once social acquaintances and neighbours in both New York and Florida.
In a 2002 profile, Trump described Epstein as a “terrific guy” and noted, “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Trump has since distanced himself from the late financier, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
Despite the ferocity of their exchange, both Musk and Trump appeared to momentarily dial down the rhetoric on Friday, June 6, 2025.
“I just wish him well,” Trump told reporters.
Musk replied shortly after on X: “Likewise.”
Nevertheless, the White House later denied reports of any planned discussions between the two
