A war of words has erupted between Musk vs Trump, exposing a growing rift between the former president and one of the GOP’s most influential billionaire backers. Once seen as allies, the two are now locked in a bitter public feud over Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping tax-and-spending package Musk says will explode the deficit. What began as policy disagreement has quickly escalated into personal jabs, online sniping, and accusations of betrayal—underscoring deeper tensions.

Here are five heated clashes between Trump and Musk.

Musk vs Trump

1. Musk slams “Big Beautiful Bill” – “A bill can be big or beautiful, not both”

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk voiced strong opposition to the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping tax and spending package backed by President Donald Trump and narrowly passed in the House, before heading to the Senate.

In a May 28 CBS interview, Musk warned the bill could “worsen the federal deficit and undermine cost-cutting efforts led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).”

“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful. But I don’t know if it could be both,” Musk quipped, adding, “It increases the budget deficit and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”

White House shrugs off criticism

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed Musk’s concerns.

“The President already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill and he’s sticking to it,” she told reporters.

2. “Slim Beautiful Bill” vs “Big Beautiful Bill”

Musk took to X (formerly Twitter), posting “Slim Beautiful Bill for the win” in a pointed jab at the official bill name “Big Beautiful Bill”.

3. Trump pushes back: “He knew the inner workings of the bill”

On June 5, Trump responded sharply to Musk’s public disapproval.

“He knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem & he only developed the problem when he found out we’re going to cut EV mandate,” Trump claimed.

Musk responds: “False… Passed in the dead of night”

Musk quickly fired back, calling Trump’s claim “false.”

“This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!” he posted on X.

He added: “I’m fine with the cuts to EV credits as long as Republicans remove the mountain of disgusting pork in wasteful spending from the bill.”

4. “They develop a type of TDS,” says Trump

Trump later suggested Musk’s criticisms stem from nostalgia for his White House-linked role: “Elon worked hard at DOGE and I think he misses the place… It’s not just Elon, I think when some people leave they miss it so badly they develop a type of TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome]… Some embrace it and some become hostile.”

Musk: “Such ingratitude”

Musk responded, claiming credit for Trump’s electoral success: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” Musk wrote. “Such ingratitude.”

Trump shot back: “I would have won Pennsylvania regardless of Elon. I’m very disappointed with Elon.”

Federal Election Commission filings show Musk spent over $290 million during the 2024 election cycle—putting him among the top political donors.

5. Old tweets, new responses

Musk also turned to Trump’s old tweets to highlight hypocrisy. In an X post, he resurfaced a 2013 Trump tweet: “I cannot believe the Republicans are extending the debt ceiling—I am a Republican & I am embarrassed!”

Musk captioned the post: “Wise words. Where is the man who wrote these words? Was he replaced by a body double!?”

He also quoted Trump’s 2012 tweet: “No member of Congress should be eligible for re-election if our country’s budget is not balanced—deficits not allowed!”

To which Musk responded: “I couldn’t agree more.”

The public rift between Trump and Musk underscores deepening divisions within the GOP’s big-money donor base over fiscal policy, and government spending. With both men wielding enormous influence, this feud could reshape Republican politics ahead of 2026 and beyond.