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US first lady Melania Trump may, in theory, live at the White House, but it’s Donald Trump’s formerly self-styled “first buddy”, Elon Musk, who has been a staple of the president’s third campaign and second term. At first, it was by Trump’s side. Now, no longer.
The bromance’s most recent honeymoon period is well and truly over, with Musk claiming on Thursday (Friday morning AEST), without evidence, that Trump is named in the Jeffrey Epstein files. For those who have been following the duo’s years-long on-off relationship – which has had more “breaks” than Friends′ Ross Geller and Rachel Green – or who have the observational skills of a blind cavefish, it’s come as no surprise.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump, pictured here in October 2024, seem to be heading for another break-up. But this isn’t the first time it’s happened in their years-long roller coaster relationship.Credit: AP
The “fragile union” between the “colossal egos” of the world’s richest man and the 45th and 47th president of the United States has followed the traditional enemies-to-friends storyline, but it’s wrought with stakes much higher than any fiction writer could dream up.
Here’s a complete timeline of Musk and Trump’s public relationship.
November 4, 2016: Musk sceptical of Trump’s fitness for office
Speaking with CNBC, Musk said, “I feel a bit stronger that [Trump] is not the right guy. He doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.”
Musk also told the broadcaster he believed former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s environmental and economic policies were “the right ones”.
Four days later, Trump defeated Clinton and was elected the 45th president of the United States.
December 14, 2016: Trump appoints Musk to economic advisory council
More than a month out from Trump’s first inauguration, and despite Musk’s comments criticising the then-president-elect, Trump appointed Musk to a future economic advisory council alongside Uber co-founder and former chief executive Travis Kalanick.
June 2, 2017: Musk resigns from presidential advisory boards
“Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world,” Musk wrote on X (then Twitter and not yet under Musk’s ownership) after Trump announced the US would withdraw from the legally binding Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
The US withdrew from the agreement in November 2020, but rejoined in February 2021 after Joe Biden took the Oval Office.
January 22, 2020: Trump and Musk are on again
Take two of Trump and Musk’s relationship was initiated by Trump, who likened the Tesla and SpaceX boss to Thomas Edison.
Speaking with CNBC, Trump said Musk was “one of our great geniuses”, adding, “I spoke to him very recently, and he’s also doing the rockets. He likes rockets. And he does good at rockets, too, by the way. I never saw where the engines come down with no wings, no anything, and they’re landing. I said I’ve never seen that before.”
SpaceX’s first successful launch and landing of a full-size Starship prototype occurred in May 2021 after a series of tests, successes, failures and yes, explosions, across multiple prototypes over two years.
September 3, 2021: Musk says he would ‘prefer to stay out of politics’
Four years after his first falling out with Trump, Musk – who once declared himself a socialist – wrote on Twitter: “I would prefer to stay out of politics.”
It was part of a wider response to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s claim that Musk supported the state’s anti-abortion laws, to which Musk replied: “In general, I believe government should rarely impose its will upon the people, and, when doing so, should aspire to maximise their cumulative happiness.”
July 12, 2022: ‘Bullshit artist’ Musk and Trump are off again?
At a rally in Alaska, Trump, while talking about free speech, addressed Musk’s vow to buy Twitter, a social media platform Trump had been “permanently suspended” from since the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
“Elon is not going to buy Twitter … he said the other day, ‘Oh, I’ve never voted for a Republican’. I said, ‘I didn’t know that’. He told me he voted for me. So he’s another bullshit artist,” Trump said while promoting Truth Social, his own social media platform.
“I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset,” Musk wrote on Twitter in response to Trump’s quotes.
Trump also claimed in another social media post that Musk would have “dropped to his knees and begged” if Trump had asked, to which Musk responded, “Lmaooo [laughing my ass off].”
Months earlier, Musk had claimed on Twitter he had voted for Biden but intended to vote Republican during the midterm elections that November. The tech billionaire’s multiple declarations he voted for Biden – including in an April 2023 interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson – have since been called into question, notably in Walter Isaacson’s authorised Musk biography.
While Musk had planned to vote for Biden on November 3, 2020, Isaacson wrote, Musk “decided that going to the polls in California, where he was then registered, was a waste of time because it was not a contested state”.
November 20, 2022: Musk reinstates Trump’s Twitter account
By October 2022, Musk had officially acquired Twitter, eventually renaming it X. The next month, after conducting a poll among users of the platform, Musk reinstated Trump’s account.
He wrote on the platform: “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.”
September 28, 2023: Musk vocalises support for Trump’s immigration policy
Musk, who was born in South Africa and has held American citizenship since 2002, expressed his support of Trump’s US-Mexico border wall.
“We actually do need a wall and we need to require people to have some shred of evidence to claim asylum to enter, as everyone is doing that,” he wrote on X.
“It’s a hack that you can literally Google to know exactly what to say! Will find out more when I visit Eagle Pass maybe as soon as tomorrow.”
On September 29, Musk met with local politicians and law enforcement officials at the Texan border city to gain what he called an “unfiltered” view of the immigration situation.
March 7, 2024: Musk declines to donate money to Trump’s campaign
One day after meeting Trump in Florida, Musk declared he would not be donating money to either the Republican or Democratic campaign.
“Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US president,” he wrote on X.
On March 18, Musk told former CNN journalist Don Lemon he was “leaning away” from Biden but while he’d “voice my opinion, I think I don’t want to put a thumb on the scale monetarily that is significant.
“I may, in the final stretch, endorse a candidate, but I don’t know yet,” Musk added. “I want to make a considered decision before the election, and if I do decide to endorse a candidate, then I will explain exactly why.”
Moments after Donald Trump was rushed off stage after an assassination attempt in Pennysylvania in July 2024, Elon Musk endorsed him on X.Credit: AP
July 14, 2024: Musk endorses Trump after assassination attempt
Moments after Secret Service agents rushed Trump, who had been shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, off-stage, Musk endorsed the injured candidate.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote on X, adding, “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”
The Washington Post later claimed Musk had spent at least $US288 million (approximately $446 million) to help elect Trump and other Republican candidates.
August 12, 2024: Musk sows first seeds of DOGE in two-hour live ramble
Technical difficulties caused X to crash temporarily ahead of Musk’s livestream interview with Trump, which, after a 40-minute delay, ended up running for two hours.
Amid Trump’s rambling, Musk suggested the candidate, if elected, should form a “government efficiency” commission and appoint Musk to it.
“I am willing to serve,” Musk later posted to X.
Elon Musk made his first campaign appearance alongside Donald Trump in October 2024 at the site where Trump survived an assassination attempt months earlier.Credit: AP
October 5, 2024: Musk makes first campaign appearance at Trump rally
Returning to the site of his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump addressed crowds with Musk – wearing a black “Make America Great Again” cap – jumping up and down on stage.
“As you can see, I’m not just MAGA, I’m dark MAGA,” Musk said to applause.
Weeks later, Musk pledged $US1 million a day to a lottery for voters in swing states who signed his America PAC petition supporting the First and Second Amendments, which protect free speech and the right to bear arms respectively.
November 5, 2024: Trump’s victory secures Musk’s unelected role
Shortly after Musk spent election night with Trump and other MAGA supporters at Mar-a-Lago, Trump announced Musk and 39-year-old billionaire and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump likened the department, colloquially referred to as DOGE – a reference to Musk’s favoured internet meme – to the Manhattan Project, implying the unofficial federal government department, intended to operate as an independent advisory group slashing waste and spending, would be as transformative in nature as the creation of the atomic bomb.
Reports that Trump – who travelled to Texas to watch SpaceX’s Starship launch alongside Musk that month – and Musk spent “almost every day together” also emerged at this time, as did reports Musk had held and sat in on meetings with foreign leaders.
November 16, 2024: Trump’s inner circle dines on McDonald’s on a jet
Musk’s place among Trump’s most-trusted was confirmed with a photo shared by presidential son Donald Trump Jr en route to an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in New York.
“Make America Health Again starts TOMORROW,” Trump Jr. wrote alongside the snap, which shows Musk, Trump, Trump Jr, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the then-nominee for health secretary, dining on McDonald’s meals at 35,000 feet.
December 23, 2024: Trump addresses complaints about Musk’s role
“No, he’s not taking the presidency,” Trump told an Arizona audience at a rally less than one month before his second inauguration. “All the different hoaxes. The new one is that president Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk. No, no, that’s not happening.”
Trump and Musk’s unsuccessful attempt at stopping a spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown from passing in Congress had reportedly left Democrats and Republicans exhausted at Musk’s political influence.
That same month, The New York Times reported Musk had been renting a $US2000 a night cottage on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, putting him within a few hundred feet of the then-president-elect’s main residence.
January 20, 2025: Musk’s questionable salute overshadows Trump’s inauguration
It’s rare that bridesmaids outshine the bride on the big day, but Musk’s actions on stage at a Make America Great Again event after Trump’s swearing-in well and truly stole the president’s thunder.
After attending Trump’s address inside Washington DC’s Capitol rotunda, Musk addressed a crowd of Trump devotees at Capital Arena, revving up the audience as he took the stage.
He then raised his arm in a gesture that resembled a Nazi salute, which defenders claimed was Musk merely trying to thank the crowd.
He performed the gesture again that same day, though he denied either act was a Nazi salute.
Elon Musk’s son X Æ A-Xii was a special guest in the Oval Office when Donald Trump signed an executive order empowering DOGE.Credit: AP
February 11, 2025: Musk brings son to watch Trump sign executive order
Musk’s son then-three-year-old X Æ A-Xii pulled faces and put his hand on Trump’s desk in the Oval Office, watching on with his father as Trump signed an executive order seeking “large-scale reductions” in the federal government workforce.
Singer Grimes, with whom Musk shares X Æ A-Xii and two other children, later alleged on X that she was not aware of her son’s public appearance until photos of it emerged on social media.
“He should not be in public like this,” Grimes, who was in an on-off relationship with Musk for four years until 2022, wrote on X. “I did not see this, thank u for alerting me. But I’m glad he was polite. Sigh.”
Elon Musk revels in the chainsaw gift he received from Argentina’s President Javier Milei on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 20.Credit: AP/Jose Luis Magana
February 20, 2025: Musk wields sparkly chainsaw at DOGE progress update
Musk accessorised his black Make America Great Again cap with a bedazzled chainsaw during an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, when he criticised the Biden administration and said he had gone from political “neutrality” to aligning himself with Trump because he felt he had “no choice”.
But back to “the chainsaw for democracy”, which is what Musk called it after he took the stage with the prop wielded as if he was slashing government spending. It had been gifted to the billionaire by Argentinian President Javier Milei, who had used it himself as a symbol of cost-cutting measures.
“Legalise comedy … It seems like we should have a good time, you know,” Musk told the crowd, spruiking DOGE cuts that he claimed would help save Medicare and Social Security.
March 4, 2025: Trump shouts out Musk in Congress address
“DOGE, perhaps you’ve heard of it,” Trump said to Congress before singling out Musk, who was watching from the third row of the Republican gallery in a rare suit and tie.
“Thank you, Elon. You’re working very hard,” Trump said, adding, “He didn’t need this. He didn’t need this. We appreciate it.”
Gesturing to the Democrats’ gallery, Trump continued: “Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it, I believe. They just don’t want to admit that.”
Seven weeks into Trump’s presidency, Musk – who responded by saluting Trump with his right hand and nodded his head – was, according to a Marist/NPR poll, facing a 50 per cent disapproval rating. In March, DOGE cut the Department of Education’s staffing by roughly half and suspended USAID, and also announced other plans to curb what Trump called “appalling waste” in further departments.
“My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again,” Trump said.
“Any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately because we are draining the swamp. It’s very simple. And the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.”
In his address to Congress, Trump also referred to Musk, who was not elected by US voters to his position, as the “head” of DOGE, despite his administration previously arguing in court that Musk was not the leader of DOGE or an employee of the department. Musk, per the Trump administration’s court argument, was a senior adviser to DOGE without any decision-making authority. Former US Digital Service official Amy Gleason had been named DOGE’s administrator the week prior.
Days later, it was reported that Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had clashed in a heated confrontation, in which Musk reportedly accused Rubio of not being good for much except appearing on television, and Trump stepped in to defend Rubio.
It was also earlier alleged that Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)-style shouting match in April. Musk took a public swipe at Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, separately that same month on X.
The White House’s South Lawn became a temporary Tesla showroom in March 2025.Credit: AP
March 11, 2025: White House doubles as Tesla showroom
The South Lawn was effectively turned into a Tesla dealership as the White House hosted an event showcasing the vehicles, which elsewhere in the US and overseas had been subject to firebombs from demonstrators in protest of Musk’s influence.
Critics claimed the event was a violation of federal laws prohibiting government employees from endorsing specific products due to ethics.
Elon Musk wore a cheese hat on his head at a rally while trying to get a conservative judge elected to Wisconsin’s supreme court.Credit: AP
April 1, 2025: April Fool’s Day election outcome no joke
Musk, who wore a cheese hat on his head to a rally in Wisconsin in honour of a local custom, spent more than $US20 million trying to get a conservative judge elected to the midwestern state’s supreme court.
Democratic endorsee Susan Crawford was ultimately elected with a 10 per cent majority. Hours later, reports emerged that Musk was planning to step back from his position in the Trump administration.
April 30, 2025: Musk attends what could be his final cabinet meeting
The Tesla chief executive was given a round of applause by Trump’s cabinet secretaries, with reports suggesting that was his last day physically working at the White House.
Analysis later released by Politico found Trump ceased talking about Musk on his Truth Social platform entirely by April, in comparison to his peak of 11 weekly mentions of Musk in February.
May 1, 2025: Musk confirms he’s stepping back from DOGE
One day after the cabinet meeting, Musk fronted a room of reporters in the White House and gave his most extensive remarks to the gathered media since launching DOGE.
As a “special government employee”, the world’s richest man was barred from working more than 130 days in a calendar year for the administration. Musk was appointed to his role in January, meaning that period would have ended in late May.
“In the grand scheme of things, I think we’ve been effective. Not as effective as I’d like. I think we could be more effective,” Musk said at a press conference. “But we’ve made progress.”
Musk pledged to reduce federal government spending by $US1 trillion with DOGE, and boasted the department had so far achieved at least $US150 billion of savings, though audits suggest the actual figure is far smaller.
May 27, 2025: Musk criticises Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’
In an interview with CBS News almost a month after stepping back from DOGE, Musk said he was “disappointed” in the centrepiece of Trump’s legislative agenda – the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s signature tax and spending bill being considered by the Senate after passing the House Republicans in April.
He also told The Washington Post that DOGE was the “whipping boy for everything”.
Two weeks earlier, he had attended Trump’s four-day trip to the Middle East, and told the Qatari Economic Forum he would be travelling to Washington and having dinner with Trump before returning to Silicon Valley. He also said he was spending up to two days a week on government work.
Elon Musk farewelled the White House with a black eye, courtesy, he says, of a play-fight with his young son.Credit: AP
May 31, 2025: Musk’s subdued White House farewell complete with black eye and gold key
“He does love our country, I know that very much,” Trump said of Musk while presenting him with a golden key to the White House. “He’s all about the USA. Americans owe him a great debt of gratitude.”
Trump said the tech titan had endured “outrageous abuse and slander and lies and attacks” in the line of duty, echoing Musk’s recent public lamentations.
Notably, Musk was sporting a black DOGE hat, a black T-shirt with “The Dogefather” on it, and a black eye he later said was courtesy of a play-fight with X Æ A-Xii.
“This is not the end of DOGE but really the beginning,” Musk said. “I liken it to a sort of Buddhism. It’s like a way of life.”
One day earlier, Musk denied a New York Times report that he was taking so much ketamine he couldn’t urinate properly.
“To be clear, I am NOT taking drugs! The New York Times was lying their ass off. I tried *prescription* ketamine a few years ago and said so on X, so this not [sic] even news. It helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven’t taken it since then,” he wrote on X.
June 4, 2025: Musk ramps up attack on Trump’s ‘beautiful bill’
Less than 100 hours after leaving the White House, Musk called Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill a “disgusting abomination” that will increase the deficit.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it any more,” the billionaire wrote on X. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination … Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
He also claimed on X: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $[US]2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America [sic] citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt dismissed Musk’s criticism, saying in a briefing that Trump was aware of Musk’s feelings on the matter and “it doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
June 5, 2025: Musk channels Quentin Tarantino in fresh attack on Trump
“Call your Senator, Call your Congressman,” Musk wrote on X, urging Americans to speak up and “KILL” Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”.
“Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL,” he added, before sharing an image of Uma Thurman from Tarantino’s Kill Bill films.
Elon Musk claimed, without evidence, that Donald Trump is named in the Jeffrey Epstein files in a June 6, 2025, post to X.Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images
June 6, 2025: Musk accuses Trump, without evidence, of being named in Epstein files
Trump’s first true response to the public fizzling of his relationship with Musk sparked the tech titan to make, without evidence, a bombshell accusation – that Trump is named in the Epstein files.
“Elon was ‘wearing thin’, I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday (Friday morning AEST).
“Such an obvious lie. So sad,” Musk responded in a post shared to X, before sensationally adding: “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
Musk, who has a history of making or amplifying false claims and allegations, offered no supporting evidence of his allegation about the yet-to-be-released Justice Department files. It is also no secret Trump and Epstein, who died by suicide while incarcerated to face sex-trafficking charges in 2019, were associates before the pair fell out. The White House was contacted for comment on the matter. Read Michael Koziol’s full report here.
