President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to Elon Musk, threatening to investigate the billionaire’s government subsidies using Musk’s own creation, DOGE.
President Donald Trump has lashed out at Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, over the billionaire’s criticism of the Trump-backed “Big Beautiful Bill.” The president’s fiery comments in a series of posts to Truth Social come amidst a growing rift between the two former allies, with Musk expressing his frustration and rage over the massive spending bill, which he believes will “destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country.”
Trump, who has long been a vocal opponent of EV Mandates that would greatly benefit the Tesla CEO, took aim at Musk’s reliance on government subsidies, suggesting that without them, the tech mogul would “probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa.”
The president went on to say, “Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE.”
In a surprising twist, Trump also threatened to turn the Department of Government Expenditures (DOGE), Musk’s own creation, against him to investigate his government subsidies. “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!” the president wrote. Tesla (TSLA) shares plummeted by as much as 5 percent in pre-market trading following President Trump’s threat.
The full text of Trump’s Truth Social post reads:
Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!
The fallout between the two powerful figures reportedly began in early June, with disagreements over the big beautiful bill serving as the catalyst. The billionaire’s criticism eventually led to him endorsing the impeachment and removal of his former chosen candidate, a move that shocked many political observers. Although Musk later apologized to the president, the damage to their once-strong alliance appears to be significant — and their feud could reignite.
During Musk’s initial meltdown at Trump, he threatened to cripple America’s space capabilities by “decommissioning” the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. As Breitbart News previously reported:
Elon Musk’s threat to “decommission” the Dragon spacecraft, which is currently the only U.S. option for transporting crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS), was met with concern from the space community. However, just hours after his initial announcement, Musk reversed course, stating, “Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon,” in response to a user on his social media platform X who urged him to “cool off and take a step back for a couple days.”
Breitbart News will continue to report on the tension between President Trump and former ally Elon Musk.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
