Billionaire Elon Musk offered a thinly-veiled threat to President Donald Trump after Trump told reporters he is mulling over deporting him amid their feud over the president's One Big Beautiful Bill, which Musk opposes because the package's $3 trillion price tag is diametrically opposed to his prior efforts to slash federal spending.
The bill, Republicans say, will pay for itself in large part due to cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs that Vice President JD Vance has described as "immaterial." But Musk earlier said he will work to unseat any Republicans who've supported "the biggest debt increase in history."
Trump was in Florida attending the opening of a migrant detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" when he was asked by a journalist if he plans to deport Musk:
"We'll have to take a look. We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon."
"Wouldn't that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies. Elon's very upset that the EV mandate will be terminated but not everyone wants an electric car. I don't want an electric car."
You can hear what Trump said in the video below.
When one social media user shared the footage of Trump's response, Musk followed up with this:
"So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now."
You can see Musk's post below.
While we can only imagine what in the world Musk has in store for his former ally, his remark sparked significant conversation online from the left and right alike.
Musk has held U.S. citizenship since 2002—and should he "escalate" matters, he'd be calling Trump's bluff after the two initially fell out over the spending package.
There's no telling what dirt Musk might have on Trump, though Musk, at least before he apologized to Trump several weeks ago, alleged Trump’s name appeared in the so-called Epstein files—documents related to the late financier, pedophile, and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein rumored to contain the names of Epstein's most high-profile enablers.
Musk’s companies—particularly SpaceX— are deeply embedded in U.S. government operations, having secured billions in federal contracts over the years. SpaceX plays a critical role in national spaceflight and satellite communications, and it's under consideration for a major new missile defense initiative worth billions.
As tensions escalated, Tesla’s stock dropped noticeably on Monday and Tuesday, reflecting investor concern over the potential fallout.
