8 hours ago
Last Updated:July 01, 2025, 21:12 IST
On Tuesday, Donald Trump toyed with the idea of deporting Elon Musk, signalling that the bromance between the US President and the Tesla founder has now soured.
US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk sit in a Tesla car model S, in front of the White House in Washington, DC, US. (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE)
US President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act now appears to have ended the strong bromance between him and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a relationship the US right wingers, conservatives and MAGA supporters saw as a bulwark against the Democrats and American left-leaning “woke elite".
But the relationship has come a long way from using the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to bring US institutions in line with Trump’s agenda to the President now himself threatening to deport the South African immigrant Musk who made it big in the US.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday before departing the White House for a visit to an immigration detention facility in Florida, the president was asked whether Elon Musk could face deportation in response to his criticism of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act currently being debated in the Senate.
Earlier this week, Donald Trump said that Musk, who once headed DOGE, “more subsidy than any human being in history" and suggested that the billionaire “would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa" if the US federal government did not support him.
The Friendship Ending Bill?
However, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act did not appear to break their bond at first. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO and the US President appeared to extend a olive branches to one another.
Even a day before on Monday (June 30) the Republican referred to his former advisor as a “great guy" and that he is “going to do well always".
But the same person on Tuesday said that Elon Musk is opposing the bill only because he’s upset that the government is trying to end tax breaks for electric vehicles, which he believes are incentives that directly help Tesla sell more cars. In short, Trump says Musk is angry because the bill could hurt Tesla’s business.
Musk, however, did not appear to hold back. Responding to the video of him being discussed regarding possibility of deportation, the tech billionaire tweeted: “So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now".
Musk also did not hold back earlier when he said that Trump was named in the Epstein Files (June 5), a post that he appeared to delete later. Insiders told news outlet Politico that Donald Trump was angry because Musk made the association.
The same week an Axios report (June 11) said that persuaded by US Vice President JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Elon decided to make amends with his friend and ally, setting aside his fears that Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill," will add trillions to the federal deficit.
Donald Trump was not just pissed at the Epstein connection but also taking credit for Trump’s election win last year and calling for his impeachment (June).
Elon Musk doubled towards the end of June, calling the Republican Party – a party that now fully centers around Trump – a “PORKY PIG PARTY".
He also appeared to suggest that the US under the Republican Party is akin to “a one-party country".
“It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY," Musk wrote on the platform he owns.
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people."
“If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day. Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE," Musk continued.
Doubling down on his criticism, Elon Musk said he would personally fund primary challenges against Republican lawmakers who supported the bill, calling their actions a betrayal of public trust.
“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!" Musk said.
“And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth."
What remains to be seen now is whether Donald Trump will use the very tools Musk made for him to tame the billionaire.
From his chat with reporters on Tuesday, the US President indicated that such a move could be on the cards.
“We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon," Trump said, before heading to Alligator Alcatraz, a detention centre in Florida’s Everglades which is settled between swamps teeming with reptiles.
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev...Read More
Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev...
Read More
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:News world From DOGE To Threats Of Deportation: How Trump-Musk Bromance Turned Toxic
