“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News, though he declined to specify what those consequences would be.“He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” he emphasized.
The president also made it clear he has no desire to mend his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, which has recently soured.
“No,” Trump said when asked if he was open to reconciling.“I would assume so, yeah,” he added when asked if their relationship was effectively over.
Trump further stated that he has no plans to speak with Musk, saying,
“I’m too busy doing other things. I have no intention of speaking to him.”
He also accused Musk of showing disrespect toward the presidency.
“I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful. You cannot disrespect the office of the President,” Trump asserted.
Social Media Clash
The fallout between the two men intensified after Musk posted a series of critical messages on X (formerly Twitter), including a now-deleted post linking Trump to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump dismissed the post as “old news.”
“Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It’s old news that’s been talked about for years,” he said.
Musk’s criticism reportedly stems from a Republican-backed spending bill passed in the House last month. Trump, who championed the bill, responded to Musk’s opposition while speaking from the Oval Office.
“I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill. I’ve helped Elon a lot,” Trump said.
In response, Musk launched several more social media attacks, including a deleted post calling for Trump’s impeachment and another warning that the administration’s tariff policies could trigger a recession.
Federal Contracts Threatened
Trump also suggested he could terminate federal subsidies and contracts awarded to Musk’s companies, notably SpaceX.
“The easiest way to save money in our Budget Billions and Billions of Dollars is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.“I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”
When asked on Saturday, June 7, whether he had given more thought to pulling Musk’s federal deals, Trump replied:
“I’d be allowed to do that... but I haven’t given it any thought.”
Investigations & Political Fallout
Conservative allies like Steve Bannon have urged federal investigations into Musk’s business operations and immigration-related matters. But Trump distanced himself from those calls:
“It’s not something that’s on top of my mind right now,” he told NBC.
Despite the drama, Trump expressed confidence that the GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would pass the Senate before July 4.
“The Republican Party has never been united like this before. It’s actually more so than it was three days ago,” Trump said.
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