Elon Musk Walks, Trump Has 'Big Beautiful Bill'. What Happened To 'Bromance'?
The "bulls**t artist" and the man who "doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States" are no longer friends, or at least they don't work together anymore.
For, you see, billionaire Elon Musk, who bankrolled President Donald Trump - to the tune of nearly US$300 million - to a second term in the White House, has walked away from his 'job' at the Department of Government Efficiency.
The 'bromance for the ages' - that cheeky description offered by British publication Independent in December last year - seemed to unravel after Musk's public criticism of Trump's 'one, big beautiful' bill.
He said "my time has come to an end" and that he was "disappointed" at the President championing a bill "... which increases the budget deficit... and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing".
Twenty-four hours passed.
Then, on Wednesday night, White House sources told the BBC they had begun "offboarding" Musk as a 'special government employee'. Accompanying that was a Musk post on X that said, "... my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end..."
Musk's X post announcing his resignation from the Department of Government Efficiency.
The break-up had been coming.
Tracking backwards, by mid-May there were various reports pointing out Musk and Trump were not talking each other up on social media (he on X and he on Truth Social) as much.
American news website The Daily Beast noted Trump had gone "awfully quiet" about Musk, scaling back mentions of him online and not including him in public White House programmes.
This was in stark contrast to February and March; Musk was "everywhere" and Trump's callouts on Truth Social were averaging four times a week. The record was 11 from February 17-23.
But why? The 'big, beautiful bill' wasn't really a factor yet.
The looming split was over a poll defeat.
Musk, like he had for Trump, funded the campaign of Wisconsin Supreme Court judge nominee.
US$21 million was placed behind Brad Schimel in a contest Musk claimed could "determine the fate of Western civilization". But Schimel lost and Susan Crawford won, and cracks began to appear.
By April 2025, American political news publication Politico cited sources close to Trump and said Musk would step back from his DOGE role "in the coming weeks".
Trump and Musk have had a tumultuous relationship over the years (File).
The same sources said Musk would not leave completely; rather, he was expected to take up an "informal advisory role" after his 'special employee' stint, which is limited by law to 130 days.
Trump uncharacteristically offered a face-saving way out for Musk, saying the Tesla boss would need to return to company matters after seeing Europe sales plunge by 40 per cent in April.
By this time the two had clashed, though (relatively) discreetly, over the H1B visa programme and snide remarks about 'President Musk', suggesting the Tesla and SpaceX boss was the real power. Trump even had to field questions about Musk 'taking over' the presidency.
In December Mediarite, another American publication, cited unnamed Trump aides as saying, "100 percent Trump is annoyed... There is a Chinese proverb - 'two tigers cannot live on one mountaintop'."
In the run-up to Trump 2.0 though, before Musk's DOGE (and yes, the acronym is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the cryptocurrency) posting, the 'two tigers' co-existed quite happily.
Trump returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, where he had been shot, after his re-election.
In October 2024 there was that now-iconic photo of Trump in Pennsylvania with Musk behind him, arms raised, jumping in delight, and chanting 'MAGA, or 'Make America Great Again' with the crowd. In August an X conversation led to Musk's DOGE avatar being crystallised.
From early 2024 back to 2016, there was a lot of see-sawing in the Musk-Trump 'bromance', which included the latter's "another bulls**t artist" jab in July 2022. That was after tension over Musk's purchase of X and a possible face-off with Trump's newly launched Truth Social.
But then, by September 2023, as it became clear Trump would bid to return as President, Musk began to back the Republican's policies, including the infamous 'border wall' with Mexico.
The flip was the attempted assassination at Butler, Pennsylvania. Seconds after Trump was rushed to a medical centre, Musk committed US$45 million monthly to his campaign.
And now they're walking away from each other, again, or so it seems.
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