Explained | From bros to foes: How the unlikely Trump-Musk relationship imploded

Washington: When Donald Trump met privately with White House officials on Wednesday, there was little to suggest that the US president was close to a public break with Elon Musk, the billionaire businessman who helped him win a second term in office.

Two White House officials familiar with the matter said Trump expressed confusion and frustration in the meeting about Musk's attacks on his sweeping tax and spending bill. But he held back, the officials said, because he wanted to preserve Musk's political and financial support ahead of the midterm elections.

By Thursday afternoon, Trump's mood had shifted. He had not spoken to Musk since the attacks began and was fuming over what one White House aide described as a "completely batshit" tirade by the Tesla CEO on X, his social media platform.

Musk had blasted Trump's tax bill as fiscally reckless and a "disgusting abomination." He vowed to oppose any Republican lawmaker who supported it. The bill would fulfill many of Trump's priorities while adding, according to the Congressional Budget Office, $2.4 trillion to the $36.2-trillion US public debt.

Privately, Trump had called Musk volatile. On Thursday, he told his team, it was time to take the gloves off.

Sitting next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he was "very disappointed" in his former adviser. Musk quickly hit back on social media, and the back-and-forth devolved from there.

"The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's government subsidies and contracts," Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media site. Within minutes, Musk said it might be time to create a new political party and endorsed a post on X from Ian Miles Cheong, a prominent Musk supporter and right-wing activist, calling for Trump's impeachment. The Trump-Musk relationship at its height was unprecedented in Washington - a sitting president granting a billionaire tech CEO access and influence inside the White House and throughout his government. Musk spent nearly $300 million backing Trump's campaign and other Republicans last year.

For months, Musk played both insider and disruptor - shaping policy conversations behind the scenes, amplifying Trump's agenda to millions online, and attacking the bureaucracy and federal spending through his self-styled Department of Government Efficiency.

Just last week, Trump hosted a farewell for Musk and declared that "Elon is really not leaving."

Now he had not only left but had turned into a top critic. Hours after Trump's Oval Office remarks, a third White House official expressed surprise at Musk's turnaround. It "caught the president and the entire West Wing off guard," she said.

Musk did not respond to emails seeking comment about the downturn in relations. His super PAC spending group, America PAC, and spokeswoman Katie Miller did not respond to calls and texts requesting comment.

In a statement, the White House called the breakup an "unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted."

From allies to adversaries

The Musk-Trump breakup sent Tesla's stock price plunging 14 per cent on Thursday and drove uncertainty among Trump's allies in Congress, who are working to pass the monumental spending package that Democrats and a small number of vocal Republicans oppose.

The breakup could reshape both men's futures. For Trump, losing Musk's backing threatens his growing influence among tech donors, social media audiences, and younger male voters — key groups that may now be harder to reach. It could also complicate fundraising ahead of next year's midterm elections.

For Musk, the stakes are potentially even higher. The break risks intensified scrutiny of his business practices that could jeopardize government contracts and invite regulatory probes, which might threaten his companies' profits.

Some of Musk's friends and associates were stunned by the fallout, with a number of them only recently expressing confidence that the partnership would endure, according to two other sources familiar with the dynamics.

The split had been simmering for weeks, said the first two White House officials, but the breaking point was over personnel: Trump's decision to pull his nomination of Jared Isaacman, Musk's hand-picked candidate to be NASA administrator.

"He was not happy" about Isaacman, one of the White House officials said of Musk.

Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and close Musk ally, was seen as key to advancing Musk's vision for space exploration and commercial space ventures. After his nomination was scuttled, Isaacman posted on X: "I am incredibly grateful to President Trump, the Senate and all those who supported me."

The move was viewed within the administration as a direct snub to Musk, the two officials said, signaling a loss of political clout and deepening the rift between him and Trump's team.

Before the Isaacman episode, top White House aides behind the scenes had already begun limiting Musk's influence — quietly walking back his authority over staffing and budget decisions. Trump himself reinforced that message in early March, telling his cabinet that department secretaries, not Musk, had the final say over agency operations.

At the same time, Musk began to hint that his time in government would come to a close, while expressing frustration at times that he could not more aggressively cut spending.

His threats and complaints about Trump's bill grew louder, but inside the White House, few believed they would seriously alter the course of the legislation — even as some worried about the fallout on the midterms from Musk's warnings to cut political spending, the first two White House officials said.

Still, a fourth White House official dismissed the impact of Musk's words on the president's signature bill.

"We're very confident," he said. "No one has changed their minds." But there was bafflement at the White House at how a relationship that only last week had been celebrated in the Oval Office had taken such a turn.

Time will tell whether the rift can be repaired. White House aides have scheduled a call between the two men on Friday.