The 'Big Beautiful' Beef: Timeline of Elon Musk-Donald Trump dispute
Billionaire Elon Musk has gone from President Donald Trump's chainsaw-welding sidekick to a flame-throwing, social media opponent of Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," which narrowly passed through the U.S. Senate on July 1.
The two have exchanged blows over the bill since May 27 when Musk first criticized it in an interview with CBS. Musk, who formerly lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that was tasked cut government spending, said that the bill "undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing."
Shortly after, he made multiple disparaging posts on his platform X, starting by calling the bill a “disgusting abomination.” His posts prompted Trump to say he was “very disappointed” with Musk’s remarks.
As Telsa CEO, Musk's comments may also stem from another portion of the tax bill that would eliminate a $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles. Trump suggested as much in his July 1 response.
On July 4, Musk posted a public poll on X about creating a third party. After over 1.2 million users interacted with it, most voting yes, he announced, “...The America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
Timeline: How the Elon Musk-Trump dispute played out
Here's a look at how their relationship has fluctuated since Musk first endorsed Trump for president:
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The two have had a somewhat tumultuous relationship since 2016 when Musk publicly spoke against Trump's initial presidential campaign. Trump shared both insults and compliments about Musk between then and his third presidential campaign, in which they became closely aligned.
Musk spent over $250 million on Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and Trump invited Musk to both his election night party and inauguration speech. Trump then created DOGE and hired Musk as a "special government employee" to lead the department alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.
Now, Trump has gone as far to say he's looking into deporting Musk from the United States, and Musk continues to vocalize disdain for both the bill and the Republican Party as a whole on his X account as he continues to promote the America Party.
CONTRIBUTING Kathryn Palmer, Joey Garrison, Sudiksha Kochi