Washington, DC (National Times): Former President Donald Trump has issued a sharp warning to Elon Musk, suggesting the tech billionaire could face “very serious consequences” if he financially backs Democratic candidates opposing Republicans who support the GOP’s latest budget bill.
In a Saturday phone interview with NBC News, Trump said, “If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” declining to elaborate further on what those consequences might entail. He reiterated, “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.”
The remarks come amid an intensifying feud between Trump and Musk, which has spilled into the public sphere over the past week. Their clash, sparked by disagreements over the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, a sweeping GOP budget measure, has escalated from policy disputes to personal attacks on social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Truth Social.
Trump made it clear he has no interest in mending fences with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO. “No,” he said when asked if he wished to reconcile. “I would assume so, yeah,” he added when asked if their relationship was effectively over.
Trump also accused Musk of being “disrespectful to the office of the President,” and said he had “no intention” of speaking to him shortly. “I’m too busy doing other things,” he said.
Musk had previously criticized the House-passed budget bill and shared a series of posts targeting Trump, including a now-deleted message referencing the former president’s past ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump dismissed the post as “old news,” noting, “Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it.”
Responding to Musk’s recent outburst, Trump said on Thursday that he was “very disappointed” in the tech mogul, asserting that “Elon knew the inner workings of this bill” and that he had “helped Elon a lot.” That prompted Musk to publish further posts calling for Trump’s impeachment and warning that the president’s economic policies could push the U.S. into a recession.
Trump retaliated with a warning that the government could cut off federal contracts and subsidies to Musk’s companies. “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” he wrote on Truth Social, adding, “I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”
Asked on Saturday whether he was actively considering cutting SpaceX or Tesla’s federal support, Trump said, “I’d be allowed to do that, but I haven’t given it any thought.”
The former president also brushed off recent calls from right-wing figures like Steve Bannon to investigate Musk’s business dealings and immigration records, saying, “It’s not something that’s on top of my mind right now.”
Despite the feud, Trump remained confident about the fate of the GOP bill, stating, “The Republican Party has never been united like this before. It’s actually more so than it was three days ago.” He credited the Musk controversy for drawing additional attention to the bill’s strengths.
“I think Elon brought out the strengths of the bill,” Trump said. “People who weren’t as focused started focusing on it, and they see how good it is. In that sense, there was a big favor. But I think Elon, really, it’s a shame that he’s so depressed and so heartbroken.”
In a separate interview aired Saturday on the podcast “This Past Weekend with Theo Von”, Vice President JD Vance described Musk’s attacks on Trump as “nuclear” and said reconciliation might now be impossible. “I’m always going to be loyal to the president,” Vance said, adding that Musk’s frustrations with the legislative process were no excuse for publicly targeting Trump.
“I think it’s a huge mistake for him to go after the president like that,” Vance concluded.
