SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk, who has been working for months now with President Donald Trump in the Department of Government Efficiency to eliminate criminal activity, fraud, waste and corruption from the government, unleashed what amounts to a nuclear bomb in his battle with Trump now.
The two have had a falling out over the congressional plan to implement some of President Trump’s agenda points: cutting some spending, making tax cuts permanent and such. Musk appears to want much bigger spending cuts while Trump is faced with the reality of a Congress where he has only a slim majority in the House, and split factions among the GOP members.
Musk recently left his role as a special government employee working with DOGE, which reports having found some $170 billion in waste that has been cut.
Trump said he asked Musk to leave, and suggested cutting government contracts with Musk, such as for use of the SpaceX ships to reach space; Musk responded with a threat to decommission SpaceX ships so they would not be available for the government.
Then Musk unleashed his big shot.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” he said.
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!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
Jeffrey Epstein, dead by apparent suicide several years ago while in jail awaiting further sex crime charges, reportedly had connections to some of the biggest names in America, including Bill Clinton, who traveled to Epstein’s island, and Bill Gates.
Musk offered no evidence for his claim.
But a report from Fortune said the two now are engaged “in a mud-slinging battle online.”
Trump said he was very disappointed in Musk, and Musk claimed Trump would have lost the 2024 election without him.
The report said Trump is mentioned in Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs and the two men were photographed together, Trump long ago distanced himself from Epstein.
“So it’s unclear what Musk is accusing Trump of, exactly. Fortune has reached out to Musk for more information. It’s worth noting that Musk himself was also photographed with Ghislaine Maxwell, who in 2021 was found guilty of child sex trafficking, among other offenses, in connection with Epstein,” the report said.
The Department of Justice is working on reviewing and releasing information about Epstein that the government holds, but many are unhappy it’s not happening faster.
The back-and-forth began when Musk criticized the pending implementation of Trump’s campaign promises, and Trump point out it cuts off $7,500 electric-vehicle subsidies from which the Musk-owned Tesla has benefited for years.
The two often have been compatriots, and enemies, consecutively. Musk was on two of Trump’s advisory councils during his first term, but later stepped down. They also were at odds off and on in 2022 in social media.
Analysts have said both men could ramp up their dispute even further.
