Inside the Trump-Musk split: How Americas most powerful bromance imploded into the biggest breakup o

Описание: President Donald Trump told the media on Tuesday afternoon that he likes "Elon a lot" after the famous pair built a tight friendship during the 2024 campaign trail and into the administration before it fell to tatters.
Back on Inauguration Day, few in Washington would have believed that the highly publicized friendship between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk would implode before the year’s end.
No political partnership burned brighter or fizzled faster than Trump and Musk’s in 2025. What began as a joint crusade to cut federal spending through the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency quickly devolved into a public falling out that unfolded in a full-blown social media feud.
As 2025 comes to a close, here's a look back at the biggest political breakup of the year.
MUSK, TRUMP COME TOGETHER AT CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL
Then President-elect Donald Trump greets Elon Musk as he arrives to attend a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The 2024 presidential campaign was the driving force for the high-profile partnership that ensued.
‘GONE TOO FAR’: GOP LAWMAKERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP AFTER MUSK RAISES EPSTEIN ALLEGATIONS
After the first Trump assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, Musk endorsed Trump in an X post. Musk went on to donate more than $200 million to Trump's presidential campaign through his super PAC, America PAC.
While the two appeared together for a virtual town hall that August, the X owner and Tesla CEO made his first public appearance with Trump on Oct. 5, as the soon-to-be president returned to Butler three months after the shooting and one month before Election Day.
Musk was jumping for joy as he joined Trump on stage.
Elon Musk jumps on the stage as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
After Trump won the 2024 presidential election , Musk was appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency.
On stage in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, after winning the election, Trump said of Musk, "A star is born!"
Two weeks after the election, Trump and his family attended the SpaceX "Starship" launch with Musk.
Trump made DOGE official on Inauguration Day by signing an executive order to cut waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government with a mandate to modernize " Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
Musk joined fellow tech moguls Jeff Bezos , Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg for Trump's inauguration.
Elon Musk arrives to speak at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
As the Trump administration got settled, DOGE got to work pursuing Musk’s ambitious goal of cutting up to $2 trillion from the federal budget.
As of Oct. 2025, DOGE has saved approximately $214 billion through a combination of asset sales, contract or lease cancellations, fraud and improper payment deletions, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings and workforce reductions, according to the DOGE website .
When tens of thousands of federal workers were laid off, protests began erupting across the United States, rejecting Musk's leadership and Trump's sweeping, second-term agenda.
Amid growing discontent directed at Musk and DOGE, Tesla stocks began seeing a drop earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Musk's political involvement prompted push back from protesters. Tesla vehicles, charging stations and dealerships were targeted in a string of vandalism attacks.
In a show of support for Musk, Trump turned the White House South Lawn into a Tesla showroom and bought a red Tesla Model S.
"He's built this great company, and he shouldn't be penalized, because he's a patriot," Trump said.
President Don...