As Elon Musk’s tenure as a senior US government official was reaching its end in April, the billionaire reportedly had a physical altercation with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that required intervention.
According to The Washington Post, following a meeting between the two and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in mid-April in which each official advocated for his preference for acting IRS commissioner, an argument broke out between the two in the hallway, during which they hurled insults at one another.
The report said that, according to Trump’s far-right ally Steve Bannon, Bessent called Musk “a fraud” because the tech mogul did not uncover $1 trillion in wasteful and fraudulent government spending as he claimed he would in his capacity as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency created especially for Musk after Trump returned to power in January.
Musk then thrust his shoulder into Bessent, Bannon said in an interview, “like a rugby player.” Bessent struck Musk back in response, the report said, and multiple people had to break up the two men.
“President Trump heard about it and said, ‘This is too much,’” Bannon was quoted as saying, indicating that the brawl led to Musk’s departure from the White House at the end of May.
While Musk’s departure was initially cordial, the two were feuding within days of when Musk began vocally criticizing Trump’s major legislative proposal, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which aims to extend tax cuts, boost military and border security spending, and make cuts to social programs like Medicaid. Musk called the bill a “disgusting abomination,” arguing it would balloon the national debt and harm the economy.
Musk then claimed Trump would not have won the 2024 election without his financial support, hinted at supporting Trump’s impeachment, and baselessly asserted that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files, which is why they are not being released to the public.
Musk also declared it was time for a new political party in the United States “to represent the 80% in the middle!”
Trump countered by suggesting he might terminate government contracts with Musk’s companies, including SpaceX and Tesla. He later said Musk had “lost his mind” and that there would be “serious consequences” should Musk financially support Democratic candidates.
Trump has stated that he sees no path for reconciliation with Musk, but people who have spoken to Musk said his anger has begun to recede, and they thought he would want to repair his relationship with Trump. Musk has deleted some of his social media posts against the president.
Musk, the world’s richest man, bankrolled a large part of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, spending nearly $300 million in last year’s US elections and taking credit for Republicans retaining a majority of seats in the House and retaking a majority in the Senate.
Trump named Musk to head an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending, lauding him at the White House only about a week ago for his work as head of the DOGE. Musk cut only about half of 1 percent of total spending, far short of his brash plans to axe $1 trillion from the federal budget.
Reuters contributed to this report.