President Donald Trump could inflict a lot of “pain” on Elon Musk as the public feud between the two threatens to destroy their relationship, according to a Washington Post report.
And Trump has the definite upper hand.
“It will come down to how much pain does Trump want to inflict,” Gene Munster, an analyst at Deepwater Asset Management, told the outlet.
The pain wouldn’t just be felt by Musk, but also by all of those who have invested in any of his companies, according to the report.
An analysis from the Post claims “that the billionaire and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits over the years.”
The relationship was seemingly on rocky ground as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appointment came to an end in May.
First, Musk started to come out against Trump's “Big, Beautiful Bill,” a high-spending budget plan which is considered a landmark piece of legislation for Trump.
The tension was further escalated last week when Musk decided to “fact-check” Trump on X while the president was speaking at a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
According to the Journal, “Musk appeared to take a step to de-escalate by deleting some of his most acrimonious messages on X about Trump.”
Trump, for his part, has been relatively mild-mannered about Musk.
But, on Saturday, Trump told NBC News in a phone interview Musk would “have to pay very serious consequences” if he decided to fund or back Democrats in the future.
Renowned Tesla investor and Musk supporter, Ross Gerber has been selling his shares as the feud with Trump continues. He believes SpaceX’s value would be cut in half if Trump pulled funding.
“Who can run in and take the phone from him [Musk]?” Gerber asked the Post rhetorically. “You cannot get up in the morning and just spit on all your friends and people who literally create the success that you have.”