How did the feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk start?

After forging a close political relationship, the two billionaires brought about significant changes in Washington. Now their alliance is collapsing.

Less than a week after praising each other in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man, had a spectacular and public falling out.

In a war of words that escalated on Thursday, both men used their social media platforms to attack each other.

Although many political analysts had predicted that their alliance would not last, the speed with which it collapsed was nonetheless dramatic.

Just last Friday, Trump was celebrating Musk's work as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which oversees cutting billions of dollars in federal spending.

The South African-born billionaire had decided to step down from his job with the US government to focus on his businesses, which have suffered as a result of his entry into politics.

Speaking at the farewell ceremony at the White House last Friday, the US president called Musk "one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced."

 "He stepped forward to put his tremendous talent at the service of our nation, and we appreciate that," Trump said.

"I just want to say that Elon has worked tirelessly, helping to lead the most comprehensive and important government reform program in generations," he added.

In response, Musk, who was presented with a gold key with the White House emblem, said he would continue to visit Trump as "a friend and advisor."

Looking around the room at Trump's new gold decorations, the entrepreneur said: "The Oval Office finally has the grandeur it deserves thanks to the president."

But the glow of their once close relationship has now completely disappeared.

As the billionaires' friendship soured this week and their feud deepened, questions have been raised about the damage that two of the most powerful men in the world could inflict on each other.

While Musk could keep tens of millions of dollars in promised campaign donations, Trump has threatened to cut billions of dollars in government contracts and subsidies for Musk's companies.

'Big and ugly bill'

The public rift between the two men began to open up on Tuesday, when Musk criticized Trump's "big, beautiful" X bill.

The bill, which passed by a narrow margin in the House of Representatives last month but faces challenges in the Senate, includes major tax cuts and raising the national debt ceiling.

Musk, who says the bill undermines all the savings made by DOGE, began strongly condemning it this week.

The bill is "massive, outrageous, full of pork" and "disgusting," Musk said.

The Tesla CEO also sharply criticized House Republicans for voting on what he calls the "big, ugly bill," which he says will increase the US deficit to $2.5 trillion (2.19 trillion euros).

Escalation of the dispute

Despite the force of Musk's language, it was only on Thursday that the feud between him and Trump fully escalated.

On Thursday morning, Musk reposted several old Trump posts on social media, including one in which the now US president said that "no member of Congress should be eligible for re-election" if the country's budget is not balanced.

"I couldn't agree more," Musk wrote, in direct criticism of Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.

Around noon on Thursday, Trump responded in the Oval Office during a visit from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Trump said he was "very disappointed" with Musk, before expressing doubts whether their "great relationship" would continue.

The debate then turned more personal, with Musk, who gave hundreds of millions of dollars to Trump's campaign last year, saying the US president wouldn't be in the White House without him.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Democrats would control the House of Representatives, and Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," Musk wrote on X.

"Such ingratitude," he concluded.

Things came to a head later Thursday afternoon.

"The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to cut off Elon's subsidies and government contracts," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"I'm always surprised Biden didn't do this!" he added.

Musk retaliated, claiming that Trump's name appears in the files of disgraced pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein, claiming that this was "the real reason why they haven't been made public."

The White House said Thursday evening that Musk's allegation about Epstein was an "unfortunate episode."

The Trump administration has suggested that the tech billionaire's criticism of the landmark bill stems from his frustration that it does not contain policies favorable to him, something Musk has denied.

By Thursday evening, it seemed Musk was open to de-escalating the situation.

After Bill Ackman, a Trump ally and hedge fund billionaire, wrote that the two men "should make peace for the good of our great country," Musk responded that he was "not wrong." / Euronews.