Written by: Bu Shuqing
Source: Wall Street Journal
In the power play of Washington, rarely has the breakdown of alliances evolved so quickly from private discord to public declaration of war. Musk, who was enjoying the golden key farewell ceremony in the White House just a week ago, is now engaged in a social media "nuclear war" with President Trump - threatening Trump's core legislative agenda while also threatening the complete collapse of the alliance between Silicon Valley and MAGA.
And when the world's richest man began suggesting that the president should be impeached and claimed to have knowledge of his ties to Epstein, the market smelled danger.
The battle for Tema has reached a stalemate, and Silicon Valley is going crazy
Trump and Musk's allies are scrambling to repair the rift, trying to minimize the political and business damage from this week's "war".
On the White House side, according to a previous article in Wall Street Journal , there were reports that Trump's staff arranged a call between the two sides on Friday. Just as the public was waiting for the two sides to reconcile, the White House quickly denied the report . In an interview with the media on Friday, Trump said that he was not interested in talking to Musk, who had "lost his mind" , and also claimed that he was considering selling his red Tesla.
“It’s unfortunate... I hope they can get back together. A lot of conservatives feel like this is not a good thing, so let’s just embrace and make peace,” Texas Senator Ted Cruz said on Friday, the day Trump berated Musk in the Oval Office. Cruz was there.
Musk appeared open to a detente , responding positively to calls from hedge fund manager Bill Ackman urging the two men to "reconcile for the good of our great country."
The stalemate in the Trump-Musk war has caused panic in Silicon Valley to spread rapidly. A Silicon Valley financier and major Republican donor told the Financial Times: "Musk won't take calls from anyone, including those who have invested billions of dollars in his company... Silicon Valley is losing its mind ."
From allies to enemies in 48 hours, the conflict escalated
Wall Street Journal earlier sorted out the timeline of the Te Ma combination from "deep brotherhood" to "enemy", but the escalation trajectory of this conflict is far more dramatic than the outside world imagined.
Wednesday: Musk's attack comes at a critical moment
Musk's first attack, which focused on deficit projections related to the "big beautiful" bill, was reportedly the backdrop for a critical meeting between Trump and key Republican senators on Wednesday afternoon, irritating White House advisers who are trying to balance the "big beautiful" bill passed by the House of Representatives with competing priorities in the Senate.
Trump himself has exercised restraint, in part because he does not want to escalate the situation and avoid Musk declaring an all-out "war" on Republican lawmakers.
Thursday: The Oval Office witnesses the outbreak of nuclear war
Musk made his comments at a press conference on Thursday local time, before Trump held a private meeting with German Chancellor Merz, which mainly discussed trade and economic issues. Musk's real-time reaction still brought the matter to the forefront.
Musk had explicitly criticized Trump's tariff policy, and by the time House Speaker Mike Johnson arrived at the White House for the meeting, an all-out war had broken out between the two men.
Johnson and Trump watched Musk's announcement of the equivalent of nuclear war in real time from the Oval Office. Just 13 minutes into the meeting with German Chancellor Merz, Trump began to vent his dissatisfaction with his billionaire benefactor.
Thursday's "outburst" caught senior White House aides off guard
Musk’s escalation took Trump by surprise, according to his advisers, who told him he didn’t think he was harsh with Musk in the Oval Office but was surprised by Musk’s aggression.
Trump aides spent some time Thursday trying to figure out what Musk's goal was. The president told advisers that Musk was just a kid, according to a White House aide.
Musk's close friend was removed from office
The Wall Street Journal revealed more behind-the-scenes details: Last Friday, before Musk's farewell ceremony, Trump aide Sergio Gore handed the president a document he had requested about NASA's new director Jared Isaacman's donations to the Democratic Party at a meeting in the Oval Office restaurant.
Musk defended Isaacman and tried to downplay the significance of the donations. But Trump said he wanted to withdraw Isaacman's nomination, according to people familiar with the matter. Later, the White House announced that it was withdrawing Isaacman's nomination to be the next NASA administrator.
Five key directions
Where will this conflict go? Here are five things to watch:
Will Trump move on? The fight will ultimately distract from Trump's agenda. Establishment Republicans worry that the once-in-a-term legislative window is closing fast.
Will Musk continue to escalate? The direction of the conflict became unpredictable when Musk began to hint that Trump was involved in the Epstein case.
Is the "Big Beautiful" bill at an impasse? The bill, which seeks to preserve and expand Trump's first-term tax cuts, could face more resistance.
Does the MAGA camp need to choose sides? Republican base voters have begun to debate fiercely in three directions: supporting Trump, supporting Musk, or hoping that the two will reconcile.
Are Democrats finally getting their chance? Musk is no longer a staunch ally of Trump, which could change the landscape of congressional oversight.
The rift is more than a personal feud between two billionaires. It strikes at the heart of the American power structure, with repercussions that will continue to brew for months and even years to come. The market has already responded: Tesla's stock price plunged 14% on Thursday, its biggest one-day drop since March 10.
