Allies fear fallout in Trump-Musk split

HE IS almost certainly off the guest list for White House galas, but Elon Musk’s astonishing spat with Donald Trump could inflict damage for both men that goes far beyond catchy headlines and an incinerated friendship.

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On one side, there’s the US president— a man who has already shown unprecedented appetite for using the levers of power to go after opponents.

On the other: the world’s richest man, with a business empire entwined deep into the heart of the US economy and space industry.

“Get your popcorn,” Chaim Siegel, an analyst at financial services company Elazar Advisors said.

“I've never seen two people this big go at it this nasty in all my time in the business. Can’t be good for either side.”

Trump allies worry that the messy breakup could have ramifications for his legacy and Republicans’ election prospects, as well as damaging the administration’s ties with Silicon Valley donors.

Musk is also in jeopardy. Trump has threatened to scrap the tech mogul’s lucrative subsidies and federal contracts, potentially devastating Tesla and risking some $22 billion of SpaceX’s government income - even if it remains unclear how the US government itself would manage the fallout.

The catalyst for the split was Trump's sprawling domestic policy bill, a package that Musk has complained in increasingly apocalyptic terms will swell the budget deficit, undermining the president’s agenda.