A White House official has spoken out on whether he gave Elon Musk that infamous black eye following a reportedly explosive clash.
When Elon Musk appeared at his final White House press briefing in June, sporting a noticeable black eye, social media exploded with questions about what had happened to the world's richest man.
Now, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has finally addressed rumours that he was responsible for the Tesla CEO's injury following their fierce confrontation in the West Wing earlier this year.
The dramatic clash reportedly occurred in April when Bessent and Musk got into a heated argument over who should lead the Internal Revenue Service.
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The incident began after both men made their cases to President Trump about who should become the new acting IRS commissioner. Trump ultimately sided with Bessent's choice, which may have contributed to the tension.
According to reports from The Atlantic and other outlets, the disagreement quickly escalated to insults and expletives before turning physical.
One witness described the fight as “two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing,” Axios reported.
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MAGA ally Stephen Bannon provided more details about what happened during the encounter to The Washington Post.
“Scott said, ‘You’re a fraud. You’re a total fraud,’” Bannon said.
Then, Musk allegedly rammed his shoulder into Bessent’s rib cage 'like a rugby player,' before Bessent hit him back, Bannon recalled.
The confrontation is said to have continued as they approached the national security office, and witnesses eventually intervened to separate the two men. Musk was reportedly escorted out of the West Wing afterwards.
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“President Trump heard about it and said, ‘This is too much,’” Bannon added.
Weeks later, the SpaceX founder appeared at the White House with a visible black eye.
In a lengthy Bloomberg interview, Bessent directly addressed the rumours about Musk's injury.
“I can 100 percent say I did not give him the black eye,” the MAGA ally said.
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Meanwhile, Musk claimed he got the injury from 'horsing around' with his five-year-old son, 'Lil X.'
“I said go ahead and punch me in the face, and he did,” the billionaire explained on a YouTube Short.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also addressed the reports of the altercation in June, though she downplayed the physical aspects.
“It was definitely a disagreement...we’ve moved on from it,” she described, stating that it wouldn't have been classed as a 'fistfight.'
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Despite their supposedly dramatic clash, Bessent has tried to understate ongoing tensions with Musk. In a June podcast appearance, he suggested they share similar objectives despite their different methods.
“We have had disagreements, but we both want to get to the same place,” the 62-year-old said. “We both want to eliminate the waste, fraud, and abuse in government.”
Bessent concluded: “The Silicon Valley mode of operation is move quickly and break things. I always say here at Treasury, we move deliberately and fix things.
"I think Elon probably fancies himself more of a Viking. I think I’m more of a ninja.”