Trump and Musk's tie-up was doomed from the start

The US president and the billionaire’s bromance, forged in a shared pursuit of power, was a dark, toxic relationship rooted in dominance and ruthlessness

- Alex Hannaford

On the surface, it was a dream reciprocal alliance. Musk reportedly contributed some $300m (£220m) to support Trump and other Republicans in the November elections, while Trump, impressed with the disruptive energy of the tech billionaire, got him to head up the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

But just five months later, their relationship has fallen apart in a spectacularly explosive fashion. Earlier this week, Musk, whose Tesla business has been hit hard by his association with the president, criticised Trump’s flagship tax and spending bill, calling it a “disgusting abomination”. That was just a foretaste of what was to follow.

By last night, Musk had called for Trump to be impeached, alleged the president was named in the Epstein files, and said that without his support Trump would never have won the election. In return, Trump said Musk had gone ‘crazy’ and threatened to terminate his multi-billion-dollar government contracts.

The outburst came just days after an Oval Office send-off from the president, which was attended by Musk sporting a black eye. Trump presented him with a brown box containing a large golden key emblazoned with the White House insignia, which he said he only gave to “very special people”.

Less than a week has passed and that special relationship is now becoming one of enmity and rage. It was, perhaps, a relationship that was always destined to end up this way.

The Independent noted this week that concerns Musk raised about the administration’s crackdown on immigration (he wanted access to the world’s best scientific brains, regardless of where they’re from) were routinely ignored. And the frustration between him and the Republicans has been stewing for months.

“He’s a complete joke. He had no idea what the fuck he was doing,” one Republican told Axios