Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump were almost best friends a few months ago – now, they’re enemies, publicly sparring on social media. It remains to be seen whether a truce is even possible, but fellow tech oligarchs are already being forced to choose whom to support.
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In a conflict over a Republican spending bill that Musk criticizes, he and Trump hurled threats at each other for a few mad hours on Thursday.
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Musk owns a $420 billion knife that he can stick into Trump’s back.
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The US president can further cut contracts with Tesla and SpaceX and even investigate Musk’s immigration status.
The feud has been extraordinary. In a conflict over a Republican spending bill that Musk criticizes, both powerful men hurled threats at each other for a few mad hours on Thursday.
Musk has mocked Trump’s connections to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and even called for Trump’s impeachment, while the US president has threatened to cancel federal contracts that have been immensely helpful for Musk’s companies, SpaceX and Tesla.
Public virtual stabbing all around
“Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more,” said Trump in the Oval Office before accusing Musk of opposing the tax bill because it doesn’t benefit Tesla.
Musk, seeing that this indeed is the big, public, and very messy breakup, then went on the warpath on X, the platform he owns, to accuse Trump of lying about the bill and to state that without the billionaire’s support, the Republican candidate would have lost the election.
According to Politico, White House aides have scheduled a call on Friday with Musk to try to broker a truce. Is a truce possible? With Musk, you never really know when and how serious he is – even though he suggested in early Friday that “making peace” would benefit the US.
Still, Musk owns a $420 billion knife that he can stick into Trump’s back with his famously relentless shitposting on X. And it’s generally rare for the billionaire to back down from anything.
On Thursday afternoon, Musk posted a poll on X, asking whether it was time “to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle.” More than 80 percent of the nearly two million respondents so far have voted “yes.”
Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?
undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
On the other hand, the US president can attack Musk with the full force of the law. He can further cut contracts with Tesla and SpaceX and even investigate Musk’s immigration status – that’s something Trump’s MAGA allies like Stephen Bannon would be ecstatic about.
But, of course, Trump also has allies among the tech bros who have been clinging on to his bromance with Musk. What are they going to do now? Let’s take a look at the main players at the table.
The Zuckerberg conundrum
David Sacks, in theory, would be the most obvious candidate to be forced to pack up and leave his post as the White House AI and crypto czar. His long relationship with Musk is well documented.
However, if we listened to Sacks himself, we’d probably realize he has no intention of leaving the administration. On a recent “All-In” podcast, Sacks passionately defended Trump’s tax bill – again, Musk is campaigning against it.
Besides, Sacks is into crypto, which is blooming under Trump – why would he want to give it up? Unlike, say, Meta or Google, crypto companies aren’t attacked as much by Bannon and his minions, who like to blame big tech for every imaginable conspiracy.
Speaking of Meta, the firm’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg – whom Americans dislike even more than Musk – is probably in a bind. When Trump won the election, Zuck quickly pivoted to the right and introduced X-like measures on his social media platforms – even railing against alleged censorship.
On the one hand, Zuckerberg didn’t really get anything from his outreach to Trump. Yes, the administration is speaking out against the European Union regulating American tech companies.
But back at home, the Federal Trade Commission has continued a trial over Meta’s alleged monopoly and has it wrapped up now. The final decision is in the hands of the judge.
On the other hand, it could probably be even worse, so it’d be bizarre if Zuckerberg – who ditched fact-checking on Facebook and introduced X-like Community Notes – again changed tack. Essentially, he needs to stay friendly with Trump if he wants his business to thrive.
On a Meta earnings call in January, Zuckerberg praised Trump for leading an administration that “prioritizes American technology winning and that will defend our values and interests abroad.”
Could Altman become Trump’s new tech BFF?
If Musk loses all privilege from the White House, Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, could be another benefactor of the conflict – again, if the feud is not glossed over soon.
Altman is seeking to build a massive network of AI data centers and stood alongside Trump earlier this year to announce the so-called Stargate project. Trump’s support of the Stargate project must have irked Musk, who has a rival AI service, xAI.
In fact, in February, after the project was unveiled, The New York Times pointed out that after helping Trump get elected with hundreds of millions of his own dollars, Musk was poised to dominate America’s AI policies.
But Altman somehow “sneaked into the White House,” sidestepping Musk. He also managed to survive the boardroom drama after an attempt to remove him from OpenAI in late 2023. In other words, Altman could surely game his way to the “First Buddy” title if he chose to do so.
Bezos benefits?
Amazon founder, billionaire Jeff Bezos, though, could be the big winner. There’s probably no love lost between the two, but Bezos would certainly be keen to take Musk’s place in the space race.
His Blue Origin directly competes with SpaceX, after all. Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet satellite effort is also a rival to Musk’s Starlink.
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