Elon Musk and Donald Trump are reportedly due to meet today (6 June), following an increasingly bitter and very public fallout between the two high-profile figures.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO had been a long-time supporter of Trump and even played an active role in the president’s current administration. Musk was appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and remained in the position until recently. But since stepping down, the relationship between the tech billionaire and Trump has taken a dramatic turn.
At the centre of the clash is Donald Trump’s much-discussed "One Big Beautiful Bill", a sweeping piece of legislation that passed the Republican-led House at the end of May and is now headed to the Senate. The bill proposes controversial measures, including scrapping tax on Social Security, overtime, and tips. Musk has been vocal in his criticism, slamming the legislation as an “abomination”.
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Trump responded in kind, saying he was "disappointed" in Musk and accusing him of being well aware of the bill’s contents before he exited the administration.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement shared by Sky News: "This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted".
She added: "The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again."
But things escalated even further when Elon Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) and accused Trump of being named in the sealed Jeffrey Epstein files, a bold and inflammatory claim made without any evidence. Musk suggested this was the reason the documents had not been released to the public.
The accusation has not been substantiated, but it’s added fuel to an already raging fire between the two.
Despite the intensity of the spat, there are reports that both parties are preparing to meet face-to-face. According to The Independent, Politico’s White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns spoke with Trump, who confirmed plans to speak with Musk.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has since called for the two men to reconcile, posting on X: "I support @realDonaldTrump and @elonmusk and they should make peace for the benefit of our great country. We are much stronger together than apart."
Musk replied: "You're not wrong."
However, the olive branch may have come too late. Just hours before that reply, Musk had continued to post critical remarks online, warning in a repost that "The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year." In another post, he agreed with a suggestion that Trump should be impeached and replaced by Senator JD Vance, with his response, in another repost, simply being: “Yes”.
Only time will tell whether their meeting today will help calm tensions or add more fuel to the fire.