'Trump in Epstein files': Musk unleashes wild claim against president
What's the story
The spat between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, which initially began over the president's "big, beautiful bill," appears to have become personal, with the Tesla CEO bringing out skeletons from the "Epstein Files" closet.
In a post on X, Musk wrote that it's time to drop a "really big bomb," referring to the Epstein files.
He said that Trump was in the files, which was the real reason they have not been made public.
Official response
Trump threatened to terminate government contracts with Musk's companies
For more than three hours, the former allies engaged in a battle of words via their own social media platforms, with Trump on Truth Social and Musk on X.
As their dispute intensified, Trump threatened to terminate government contracts with Musk's companies, including SpaceX.
"The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," Trump wrote.
In response, Musk asked the president to "go ahead, make my day."
Relationship decline
Feud marks significant turn in their relationship
Musk also suggested that Trump would have lost the election without him, writing, "Such ingratitude."
Musk donated over $250 million to Trump's 2024 campaign and even joined his administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
However, their bond soured over disagreements on key policies, in particular Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which Musk called a "disgusting abomination."
Musk abruptly left the government last week after 129 days of attempting to slash costs with his DOGE team.
Epstein files
What are 'Epstein files?'
The "Epstein files" refer to a trove of documents and files from investigations and lawsuits against Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
The Justice Department has released hundreds of pages of these documents over the years. However, key pieces like a client list remain unreleased.
The released documents include flight logs, an evidence list, a contact book, and a redacted "masseuse list" believed to refer to Epstein's victims.