Cracks are starting to show in the otherwise intense relationship between Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump, as a decade-old feud ignited by the former has caused complications after a recent major governmental program is revealed.
It's no surprise that Elon Musk has enemies of sorts, as he's previously ignited social media arguments with major celebrities, infamous hacking groups, and even entire countries, but one of his longest rivalries might just cause him trouble in his latest role.
After keenly supporting now-President Donald Trump in his successful election campaign, Musk was rewarded with a position as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which involved cutting the 'waste' from the federal budget.
Advert
While he won't have offices close in location to the president, he holds significant power in the current administration and has previously pledged to cut up to $2,000,000,000,000 over the next two years.
However, his power could be wearing thin after expressing clear opposition to Trump's latest major AI-focused initiative 'Stargate' - powered in a $500 billion coalition between Softbank, Oracle, and most importantly ChatGPT creator OpenAI.
The plan includes a wide range of initiatives, including the creation over 'over 100,000 jobs' for Americans, but it also claims to be able to create personalized cancer vaccines in the near future.
Advert
As reported by MSN, Musk has had a long-running feud with Sam Altman despite co-founding OpenAI together, as he quit the company just three years after it began in an alleged power struggle with co-chair Altman.
He has been clear about his feelings for Altman since leaving OpenAI, but the recent deal involving the CEO has caused Musk to publicly criticize him on social media.
Musk claimed that "they don't actually have the money," in response to a post from OpenAI, adding that "SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority."
Trump asserted publicly that he wasn't bothered by Musk's public pushback, outlining in response to questions: "No, [Musk] hates one of the people in the deal. People in the deal are very, very smart people. But Elon - one of the people, he happens to hate. But I have certain hatreds of people too."
Advert
Altman doesn't seem too worried about it either, remarking on X in response to Musk's tirade: "Just one more mean tweet and then maybe you'll love yourself..."
Advert
It does perhaps indicate to Trump that Musk isn't someone that you can keep on a tight leash, and reports from Politico indicate that the president's team are 'furious' with the behavior of the richest man in the world.
White House officials have been said to believe that Musk has got ahead oh himself on this, and that he has 'abused' his close relationship with the president and his massive social media platform over what amounts to petty feuds.
"The problem is the president doesn't have any leverage over him and Elon gives zero fucks," outlines one Trump ally, and while that might go well for you in business it's likely not the attitude that Trump will welcome.
These issues could then source from the fact that Musk is merely a private advisor to the government as head of DOGE, as opposed to an official government employee. But with how quickly former DOGE head Vivek Ramaswamy exited the program, who is to say that Elon won't be next.