‘You didn’t grab Elon by the collar?’: Scott Bessent has hilarious reply to query on Musk feud

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent found himself in an unusually heated spotlight, not for economic policy but for a blistering confrontation with Elon Musk at the White House. During his appearance on a Fox News show, host Jesse Watters questioned him about the heated exchange between the two that drew widespread attention. 

Scott Bessent talks about his clash with Elon Musk

Appearing on Monday’s 'Jesse Watters Primetime', Bessent predicted “parallel prosperity” in 2026, whereby “Main Street can do well, Wall Street can do well.”

Watters then shifted the conversation to the clash with Musk, asking, “All right, and if things don’t work out, you can always give people a little elbow. You have a big reputation. I mean, you walk around the White House and everybody moves back. What, you got into a beef with Musk? What’d you do to him?”

When Bessent seemed clueless at the question in the beginning, Jesse asked, “What’d you do to Elon?”

“Elon and I are both very passionate. I think that what he did with DOGE has set a very good trend in terms of cutting government expenses, that we were able to…”, Bessent said.

But was interrupted by Watters, who asked him, “You didn’t grab Elon by the collar, did you? You would never do such a thing? The Secretary of Treasury!”

To which Bessent joked, “Elon wears t-shirts, so there is no collar.”

Reports about Scott Bessent's clash with Elon Musk

In May this year, The Atlantic reported that Bessent and Musk clashed at the West Wing over who had the authority to appoint the next Internal Revenue Service commissioner. 

While the decision officially rested with Bessent as the Treasury Secretary, Musk, who was then leading the Department of Government Efficiency, disagreed and challenged his authority. 

President Donald Trump had appointed Musk as a special government employee, but the Tesla CEO soon fell out of favor with several senior administration officials. 

“F*** you! F*** you! F*** you!” Bessent reportedly shouted at Musk.

“The fight had started outside the Oval Office; it continued past the Roosevelt Room and toward the chief of staff’s office, and then barreled around the corner to the national security adviser’s warren,” The Atlantic said at the time.

“Musk accused Bessent of having run two failed hedge funds. ‘I can’t hear you,’ he told Bessent as they argued, their faces just inches apart. ‘Say it louder.'”

Scott Bessent's calm image vs alleged fiery reality

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent gives remarks during a roundtable meeting at the U.S. Treasury Department on May 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Bessent addressed participants in the Financial Literacy and Education Commission public meeting (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Bessent’s media appearances are usually calm and deliberate, focusing on policy and politics. However, behind the scenes, he has gained a reputation for being more combative. 

In September, reports suggested that he confronted Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, after learning that Pulte had been criticising him to Trump. 

“Why the f*** are you talking to the president about me? F*** you,” Bessent told Pulte, witnesses to the alleged confrontation told Politico. “I’m gonna punch you in your f***ing face.”