Donald Trump hits back at Elon Musk's Epstein list bombshell amid fiery feud

Donald Trump has hit back after Elon Musk landed a "really big bomb" which has left their once cosy relationship in tatters.

It is not long since there was concern that the tech billionaire was getting too close to the United States president but now the two have been at each others throats in an ugly war of words played out on social media. Trump threatened to cut Musk’s government contracts as their fractured alliance rapidly escalated into a public feud as he suggested he would use the US government to hurt him financially.

The spectacular blow-up began after Trump first broached the topic in a White House meeting with Germany’s new leader and it reached a new depth when Musk wrote on X: "Time to drop the really big bomb" before claiming that "is in the Epstein files".

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Trump's name was released as previously sealed court documents were made public last year, in which he was named as an associate of the disgraced financier . There is no suggestion Trump knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour.

And Trump has now responded: "I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

The rancorous breakup happened less than a week after they appeared together at the White House and Trump thanked Musk for his brief but tumultuous time in the US government.

Trump had largely remained silent as Musk stewed over the last few days on his social media platform X, condemning the president’s signature tax cuts and spending bill. But Trump clapped back Thursday in the Oval Office, lamented their frayed relationship and said he was “very disappointed in Musk.”

Musk responded on social media in real time. Trump ratcheted up the stakes when he turned to his own social media network, Truth Social, and threatened to use the US government to hurt Musk’s bottom line with his internet company Starlink and rocket company SpaceX.

“The easiest way to in our , Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump wrote on his social media network. “I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”

“This just gets better and better,” Musk quickly replied on X. “Go ahead, make my day.” The deepening rift unfurled much like their relationship started — rapidly, intensely and very publicly.

Musk later offered a stinging insult to a president sensitive about his standing among voters: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” Musk retorted. “Such ingratitude,” Musk said in a follow-up post.

It also quickly hit Musk financially, even before Trump’s threat. After Trump started speaking about Musk, shares of his electric vehicle company Tesla fell 9%, their latest notable move since the election.

The shares doubled in the weeks after Trump was elected, gave back those gains and more during Musk’s time at DOGE and then rallied after he vowed in April to focus much more on Tesla and his other companies.

Musk has been attacking Trump's "big beautiful bill" for days on social media, warning that it will increase the federal deficit and he called it a “disgusting abomination”. It was building up to the spat today when Trump hit back.