Is Trump Really Threatening to Cancel Musk's Government Contracts?

Washington, June 6 (NationPress) US President Donald Trump has proclaimed that the most effective method for the government to curtail expenses would be to cancel the contracts and subsidies allocated to billionaire and former adviser Elon Musk, amidst a growing public feud between the Commander-in-Chief and the world's richest individual.

"The most effective way to save money in our budget, amounting to billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon’s governmental subsidies and contracts," Trump expressed on his social media platform, Truth Social.

"I’ve always been surprised that Biden never did it!" the US President remarked.

This threat emerged after Musk accused the US President of ingratitude and asserted that Trump would have lost the election without his support, given that the billionaire contributed over $250 million to aid in his election last year.

Just moments earlier, Trump stated that he had asked Musk to vacate the White House, alleging that the Tesla CEO "just went CRAZY!"

"Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I rescinded his EV mandate that compelled everyone to purchase electric vehicles that nobody else wanted (which he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY," the President noted. (It’s important to clarify that there has never been a federal mandate preventing Americans from buying gasoline-powered vehicles.)

Trump hinted during an Oval Office press conference on Thursday that the Tesla CEO might oppose his "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" because he is "upset" about the removal of the electric vehicle incentive, adding that he is uncertain about the future of his friendship with Musk, alleging Musk was aware of the bill's inner workings.

Musk did not deny the claim regarding the EV tax credits in a tweet replying to Trump, stating it was "very unfair!!" that oil and gas subsidies remained in the bill, and in a follow-up tweet, he said, "this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so quickly that almost no one in Congress could even read it!"

The deterioration of the relationship between the President and the world’s wealthiest individual is unfolding much like how their connection began — swiftly, intensely, and very publicly.

As President Trump sat in the Oval Office alongside Germany’s leader on Thursday, he expressed his disappointment regarding his strained relationship with Elon Musk, who transitioned from adviser to social media adversary.

Trump stated he was "very disappointed" with Musk after the billionaire and former Trump supporter criticized the President’s signature bill concerning tax cuts and spending plans.

"Whatever," Musk replied on his social media platform while engaging with Trump in real-time.

It’s rare for politicians and their benefactors to agree. However, the extent of Musk’s support for Trump, amounting to at least $250 million backing his campaign, coupled with the broad latitude the President granted him to navigate the government through the Department of Government Efficiency, is overshadowed only by the swift nature of their fallout.

Musk publicly declared his support for Trump shortly after the then-candidate narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on stage during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July.

News of Musk's political action committee supporting Trump’s election followed shortly after.

Musk quickly evolved into a close adviser and frequent companion, notably leaping in the air behind Trump during a rally in October. Once Trump assumed the presidency, the tech billionaire stood by him during the oath of office, traveled with him on Air Force One for weekend visits to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, rested in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House at the President’s invitation, and participated in Cabinet meetings sporting a MAGA hat (sometimes more than one).

"I’ll be honest, I think he missed the place," Trump observed on Thursday.

"He got out there, and all of a sudden he wasn’t in this beautiful Oval Office anymore."

Musk bid farewell to Trump last week in a low-key news conference in the Oval Office, where he bore a black eye that he attributed to his young son, yet it appeared to symbolize his tumultuous tenure in government service.

Trump, who seldom lets an opportunity to critique his adversaries on appearance pass, mentioned it on Thursday.

"I said, 'Do you want a little makeup? We’ll get you a little makeup.' Which is interesting," Trump remarked.

The US President’s comments arose as Musk has been expressing his frustrations on social media regarding Trump’s "Big Beautiful Bill," cautioning that it will inflate the federal deficit. Musk referred to the bill as a "disgusting abomination."

"He hasn’t personally criticized me, but I’m sure that will be next," Trump mentioned on Thursday in the Oval Office.

"But I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot."

"Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore," Trump continued.

The President indicated that some individuals who depart from his administration "miss it so profoundly" and "actually become hostile."

"It’s what they call Trump derangement syndrome, I guess," he added.

He dismissed the billionaire’s attempts to assist him in the election last year, including a $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes in Pennsylvania. The substantial financial support Musk exhibited seemed to position him as a highly sought-after ally for Republicans moving forward, but his rupture with Trump, the party's leader, raises concerns about whether they or any others will witness such a campaign windfall in the future.

Trump remarked that Musk, the CEO and founder of Tesla, "only developed a problem" with the bill because it retracts tax credits for electric vehicles.

"False," Musk retorted on his social media platform while Trump continued speaking.

"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!"

In another post, he suggested Trump could retain the spending cuts but "ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill."

The bill is poised to unleash trillions of dollars in tax cuts and slash spending but also boost deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade, leaving nearly 10.9 million more individuals without health insurance, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, which has historically acted as the official scorekeeper of legislation in Congress.

Alongside Musk’s discontent regarding the electric vehicle tax credits, Trump indicated that another issue was Musk’s promotion of Jared Isaacman to oversee NASA.

Trump rescinded Isaacman’s nomination over the weekend, shortly after Musk exited his governmental role.

"I didn’t think it was appropriate," Trump stated, labeling Isaacman "totally a Democrat."

Musk, reverting to his primary mode of political engagement before joining forces with Trump, continued to respond on social media.

He shared posts Trump made over a decade ago criticizing Republicans for their spending, musings made when he, too, was merely a billionaire expressing his thoughts on social media.