In this fragile union of colossal egos, it was always going to end in tears

One doesn’t need to have possessed the powers of Nostradamus to predict that the greatest bromance of the modern era, between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, would end in headline-blaring tears.

Nor is it surprising they would finish their relationship in a flame-throwing blaze given both missed out on genes that carried understatement or restraint.

Not happy, Elon. Credit: AP

For a while, the interests of the leader of the free world and its richest citizen were aligned and their combined force fortified their potency – but ultimately, it was a fragile union of colossal egos.

Only one could emerge from this union triumphant albeit somewhat bruised – and it was Trump.

There are various theories about what precipitated Musk’s move to “go postal” on Trump’s signature tax and spending bill.

The billionaire declared on social media that, “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

To ensure the maximum bang for his buck, Musk posted the rapid-fire series of critical comments during a White House press briefing, blindsiding Trump’s communications team.

The first is that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts the electric vehicle tax credit that helps car makers such as Musk’s Tesla.

Another postulation was that Musk lost his last vestige of self-control over the weekend when Trump abruptly announced he was withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a Musk ally, to be NASA administrator.

Another insider reportedly posited that Musk wanted the Federal Aviation Administration to use his Starlink satellite system for national air traffic control but that the administration baulked at it because of the appearance of a conflict of interest. (Although this feels like a stretch given Trump has no history of conflict of interest concerns.)

Credit: Matt Golding

It has always felt that both Trump and Musk approached the management of the US economy like they were running a troubled company.

There is ample evidence that the relationship between the two men had been fraying over recent weeks or months.

Last week, Musk announced he was leaving his pro bono job leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to devote his time to running his challenged electric vehicle maker, Tesla, his aerospace and satellite company SpaceX and his artificial intelligence contender XAI.

This is increasingly being seen as a ruse and that Musk was being pushed outside of Capitol Hill, having garnered insider enemies and been unpopular with voters.

That said, in recent times Musk has made no secret that he was unimpressed with the legislation, quipping that it could be big or beautiful, but not both.

Happier times: Chief executive officer of Tesla Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump.Credit: Bloomberg

The big spending and deficit-ballooning bill certainly appeared to be at odds with Musk’s attempts to tackle the deficit by removing what he saw as government waste.

But in Wednesday’s no holds barred social media spewing, he pronounced that the bill “will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt”.

“Congress,” he said, “is making America bankrupt.”

It has always felt that both Trump and Musk approached the management of the US economy like they were running a troubled company.

Trump saw himself as executive chairman and Musk’s duties were more aligned with a chief financial officer or chief operating officer.

Broadly speaking, Trump saw that to achieve this goal he needed to raise money, using the tool of tariffs and to increase internal production by re-igniting the country’s manufacturing base – flawed as these strategies have been.

His plan also involved cutting tax rates for companies and for the wealthy.

Among the considerations to pay for the bill are cuts to Medicaid spending and the repeal of so-called green tax credits for electric vehicle purchases as well as domestic and business energy upgrades, passed in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Musk applied his skills to cutting costs – in the hallmark way as businesses have undertaken this task – which is generally to reduce an organisation’s headcount.

The Department of Government Efficiency has faced legal challenges over the scope of its work, and Musk and his team have been criticised for a lack of transparency as well as their failure to reach savings anywhere near the stated goals.

But in any organisation there is a pecking order. And in the case of the US Government Ltd, Trump is King.

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