Trump and Musk Feud Escalates

President Trump and Elon Musk engaged in a public feud, with Trump threatening to cancel Musk's lucrative government contracts and Musk claiming Trump couldn't have won the presidency without him. The dispute began over Musk's criticism of Republicans' tax and budget bill, which Musk called "outrageous" and "a disgusting abomination." Musk alleged that Trump's name appeared in files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, prompting Trump to respond with personal attacks on Musk. Trump also threatened to terminate SpaceX and Tesla's federal contracts, causing Tesla's shares to plummet 18%. Musk responded with a threat to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, but later retracted the statement.

The article discusses the relationship between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, specifically how Musk's endorsement and campaigning for Trump in July last year may have influenced the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. The BBC's North America Correspondent Nomia Iqbal spoke to voters in the key state of Pennsylvania to gather their opinions on whether Musk was the "secret weapon" that led to Trump's re-election.

President Donald Trump has privately asked aides if Elon Musk's recent behavior could be related to alleged drug use, despite publicly downplaying the situation. Trump claimed he wasn't thinking about Musk and wouldn't be speaking to him for a while, but aides said he was trying to understand Musk's sudden change in behavior. The feud between the two began when Musk criticized Trump's legislative package, and Trump responded by suggesting he might cancel some of Musk's government contracts. The break-up has raised questions about the future of Musk's businesses, Trump's agenda, and the direction of the Republican Party.

President Trump has various options to punish Elon Musk even if his federal contracts with SpaceX continue. While canceling contracts is not straightforward due to SpaceX's crucial role in the Pentagon and NASA's operations, Trump can instruct federal regulators to intensify oversight of Musk's businesses, reversing a slowdown in regulatory actions during his previous administration. Trump can also suspend Musk's security clearance, making it harder for him to lead SpaceX, which has billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts. Additionally, the Trump administration can slow down new contracts for SpaceX and drive more work to its rivals. However, terminating SpaceX's contracts would significantly delay NASA's efforts to return humans to the moon and end the US capability to launch astronauts to orbit for the foreseeable future. The federal government has awarded nearly $18 billion in contracts to SpaceX over the past decade. Trump's administration can still exert pressure on Musk through regulatory agencies overseeing his various companies, including Tesla, X, the Boring Company, and Neuralink.