Elon Musk says Donald Trump is named in the Epstein files

Donald Trump’s row with Elon Musk has exploded with the SpaceX boss dropping “a really big bomb” as he accuses the US President of being named in the Epstein files.

• Bromance over: Why Trump and Musk turned on each other

The simmering feud between America’s most powerful men has exploded into an all-out war as Donald Trump threatens to axe billions in government contracts with Elon Musk who in turn supported calls for the president’s impeachment and accused him of having links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Six days after singing each other’s praises in the Oval Office, the pair publicly traded increasingly brutal blows with Mr Musk taking credit for the president’s election victory and the Mr Trump describing his former “first buddy” as crazy and disappointing.

The spectacular public demise of the friendship saw spooked investors dump Tesla shares, wiping about $US150 billion in market value from Mr Musk’s embattled business.

The bromance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk is over. Picture: AFP

Tensions had been mounting for days after the tech billionaire repeatedly criticised the One Big Beautiful Bill, the cornerstone of the president’s legislative agenda, describing it as a “disgusting abomination”.

Mr Musk claims it will add trillions to the government’s deficit while Mr Trump says it will save trillions.

“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship,” Mr Trump said when asked about the criticism.

“I don’t know if we will anymore.

“I’m very disappointed in Elon.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi, from left, President Donald Trump and Patrick Yoes, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, attend a meeting with the Fraternal Order of Police in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington amid the Musk feud. Picture: AP

During a press conference in the Oval Office, the President claimed Mr Musk was aware of the bill’s inner workings and “had no problem with it” but developed an issue when he realised it would cut electric vehicle mandates that benefit Tesla.

However Mr Musk began posting live, calling out the president’s comments as “false” before they began trading barbs online.

“Elon was “wearing thin,” I asked him to leave, I took away his EV mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!,” Mr Trump wrote online soon after.

“The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon’s governmental subsidies and contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”

Mr Musk fired back, telling the President “go ahead, make my day”,

Mr Musk’s SpaceX business has contracts worth tens of billions of dollars with the US government and minutes later he announced on X that in light of the president’s threat, the rocket company would “begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately”

The spacecraft are used resupply the International Space Station, transport crew members and were recently used to bring NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back to earth after they were stuck in space for more than nine months.

However, Musk then appeared to backtrack on his threat to decommission Dragon spacecraft.

Responding to a follower on X urging him and Mr Trump to “cool off and take a step back for a couple of days,” Mr Musk wrote: “Good advice. Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.”

One of the many social media posts by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk displayed on a smartphone in San Anselmo, California. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

The feud then became deeply personal, with Mr Musk linking the president to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying Mr Trump was named in sealed documents related to the case.

“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!,” he said, mocking Mr Trump’s trademark sign off using his initials.

Democrats seized on this, asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to speed up the process of releasing more of the files.

Elon Musk publicly accused President Donald Trump of being named in the confidential "Epstein files" , sharing this 1992 video from MSNBC on X.

Mr Musk told his 220 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns, that Mr Trump would not be in the White House without his support.

“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, (Democrats) would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” he said.

“Such ingratitude.”

The billionaire also supported calls for the president to be impeached.

Elon Musk claims Donald Trump would have lost the election without his backing. Picture: AP

Mr Musk went on to criticise the administration’s tariffs regime, warning: “The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year.”

Meanwhile Ashley St Clair, the alleged mother of one of Musk’s 14 children, weighed in on the feud on X, tagging the president and asking him “lmk (let me know) if you need any breakup advice”. She and Musk are in the midst of a messy paternity dispute.

And Republican supporter rapper Kanye West attempted to diffuse the situation by tweeting: “Broooos please noooooo. We love you both so much,” he posted on X accompanied by a hugging emoji.

Back in the day when Elon Musk and President Donald Trump were inseparable. Picture: AP

Democrats are gleefully watching the stoush unfold.

“The Trump-Musk feud is like a reality TV episode of the ‘Real Housewives’, only with less stable people,” said Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic National Committeeman from New York.

Former White House official Steve Bannon urged President Trump to investigate Musk’s immigration status and deport him “immediately”.

“They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status, because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately,” Bannon, who served as Trump’s chief strategist during the president’s first term, told the New York Times.

Bannon added that the Trump administration should also probe Musk’s alleged drug use and his claims that the South African native attempted to get a classified Pentagon briefing on China.

Tesla shares have taken a major tumble after the public feud. Picture: AP

Meanwhile, Tesla suffered its worst single-day drop in more than four years as the Musk-Trump feud went nuclear.

Shares in the electric vehicle maker tanked $US47.35, or 14 per cent, to $US284.70, wiping out $US153 billion in market value.

It comes less than a week after Mr Musk left his position as a special government employee.

As he left, the President held a press conference in the Oval Office where he presented Mr Musk with a key to the White House and publicly thanked him for his work as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, describing his service to the American people as “without comparison in modern history”.

The tech billionaire was equally complimentary of the President, saying he would continue to be a “friend and adviser” to Mr Trump.

“If there is anything the President wants me to do, I’m at the President’s service,” Mr Musk said.

Originally published as Elon Musk says Donald Trump is named in the Epstein files