Elon Musk owes Donald Trump eye-watering amount of money amid widening rift: Report
WASHINGTON, DC: Elon Musk’s whirlwind bromance with Donald Trump seems to have hit a rocky patch amid the tech mogul’s departure from the president’s White House.
Now, in a shocking turn of events, it has been revealed that the billionaire Tesla CEO owes an eye-watering amount of money to the Commander-in-Chief.
Elon Musk owes $100M to Donald Trump
The Starlink founder owes Trump $100 million, which is a part of a larger $300 million commitment Musk allegedly made to support the President’s re-election efforts, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The news outlet reported that Trump’s advisers confirmed that Musk isn't keeping the money coming in, now that their bromance appears to have come to a standstill.
This missing sum is seemingly the most concrete sign yet of a widening rift between the two larger-than-life figures.
The pair shared a public alliance over the past year, especially during the election run and early days of the Trump administration. But the bond has since weakened, with insiders now describing the situation as “strained.”
Rift between Donald Trump and Elon Musk over Sam Altman
The White House insiders revealed that the shocking rift between Trump and Musk has been brewing for a while now.
A significant cause of conflict seems to be Musk's annoyance at a covert meeting between Trump and one of his known rivals, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, according to Futurism.
Musk was so angered by the news, according to the WSJ, that the meeting was postponed just to appease him. However, Altman never made it to a planned public event with Trump, likely due to the behind-the-scenes drama.
The fallout was further triggered after the Trump administration grew frustrated with Musk’s behavior inside his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The tech mogul made a slew of controversial decisions without coordinating with key Trump officials, forcing the president to appoint an official to monitor Musk’s actions.
The billionaire also butted heads with key Trump appointees and was furious about the president's plans to roll out extreme tariffs, which have caused endless chaos for the global economy.
Musk’s time at the White House came to an end on May 28 after he announced his departure from DOGE amid mounting pressure from Tesla's board.
Elon Musk distances himself from Donald Trump’s policies
Elon Musk appeared to distance himself from Donald Trump after he deflected questions about his ally’s proposed policies, including soaring tariffs and restrictions on foreign students.
He recently sat down with CBS correspondent David Pogue to discuss an array of topics, with DOGE being one of the main ones.
“I noticed that all of your businesses involve a lot of components, a lot of parts. Do the tariffs and the trade wars affect any of this?” the host asked the tech mogul.
Musk shook his shoulders and said, "Ugh, you know, tariffs always affect things a little bit."
“Wondering what your thought is on the ban on foreign students — the proposal. I mean, you were one of those kids, right?” Pogue again asked.
Looking seemingly uncomfortable, the tech mogul took a long pause before asking Pogue to stick to the topic. "I think we want to stick to the topic of today, which is spaceships as opposed to presidential policy," Musk said.
