The feud between President Donald Trump and former special government employee and billionaire Elon Musk ramped up Tuesday with Trump suggesting to “take a look” at deporting Musk.
Trump spoke to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday before visiting a Florida immigration detention center nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” when a reporter asked Trump if he would consider deporting Musk.
“I don’t know, I mean, we’ll have to take a look,” Trump said. “We might have to put DOGE on Elon.”
Trump’s threats represent a sharp contrast to someone he appeared to consider a close friend once. Musk formerly served as a special government employee and overseer of the Department of Government Efficiency.
“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” Trump said. “He gets a lot of subsidies, Peter, but Elon’s very upset that the EV mandate is gonna be terminated,” Trump added.
Musk criticized excessive federal spending and committed to cut “waste, fraud and abuse” in government contracts.
A February Washington Post report found Musk’s businesses across Tesla and SpaceX received more than $38 billion in federal funding over the past 20 years.
As Trump’s legislative agenda moves forward in the “One Big, Beautiful, Bill,” Musk has repeatedly criticized the legislation for its impact on the federal debt.
Musk maintains that he is not concerned about President Trump’s elimination of the electric vehicle mandate.
“If you eliminated all EV incentives tomorrow, Tesla’s competitive position would improve significantly,” Musk said in a 2022 interview that he recently reposted on social media.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” would boost federal deficits by $3.3 trillion over the next decade, the Center Square reported.
“If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” Musk wrote in a Monday social media post. “Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”
In another post to social media, Musk threatened members of Congress who vote for the bill and are running for reelection.
“They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on Earth,” Musk wrote.
Musk reportedly spent at least $3 million supporting conservative Brad Schimel for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, who ultimately lost the nomination.
Musk’s support of candidates that oppose President Trump’s agenda could jeopardize the already razor thin margins in Congress that support the President’s policies.
