Elon Musk says Trump would've lost election 'without me' as public rift widens

Brendan Rascius, The Charlotte Observer on Jun 5, 2025

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The public rift between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk has widened, with the pair exchanging new barbs — just days after Musk departed the administration.

In an Oval Office meeting Thursday, Trump told reporters, “I’m very disappointed with Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”

He was referring to the SpaceX CEO’s recent posts on X, which have been critical of the GOP-backed spending bill, which he labeled a “disgusting abomination.”

“Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here. ... He only developed a problem when he found out that we’re going to have to cut the (electric vehicle) mandate,” the president said in the White House meeting.

Attempting to explain Musk’s new criticisms, Trump ventured to guess that the billionaire businessman might “miss” working for the government. Musk, who worked as a “special government employee” at the Department of Government Efficiency, officially left the administration May 30.

Trump also downplayed Musk’s impact on the 2024 election — during which the CEO spent more than $200 million on Trump’s campaign, as well as on the campaigns of other Republicans.

The president said he believed he would have won Pennsylvania “easily anyway.”

Musk quickly responded in a series of posts on X.

“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” he wrote.

“Such ingratitude,” he added.

Musk also reposted a series of old posts from Trump — some from over a decade ago — in which Trump called for balancing the federal budget.

“Where is this guy today??” Musk wrote.

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