A timeline of Elon Musk and Donald Trump's rocky relationship
Donald Trump (right) on Tuesday escalated his feud with Elon Musk in a Truth Social post belittling the billionaire.Andrew Kelly, Gaelen Morse/Reuters
Elon Musk is set to interview Donald Trump on Monday night.
The two businessmen have had a tumultuous relationship over the years.
Musk endorsed Trump after the former president survived an assassination attempt.
Elon Musk is set to toss a lifeline to Donald Trump, the same person he said should not be president again.
On Monday evening, Musk hosted Trump for a live interview on X, formerly known as Twitter, welcoming Trump back to the platform that paved the way for the reality TV star’s shocking upset in 2016.
After tearing into each other in the past, the world’s richest person and Republican presidential nominee have become close political allies. Musk is making clear that this extends now to his armada of businesses and potentially millions in donations to a pro-Trump super PAC.
Here’s how the two powerful men reached this point.
November 2016: Musk says Trump is ‘not the right guy’ for the job
Yasin Ozturk/Getty Images
Just before the 2016 presidential election, Musk told CNBC he didn’t think Trump should be president.
“I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy. He doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States,” Musk said.
The billionaire added that Hillary Clinton’s economic and environmental policies were the “right ones.”
December 2016: Musk appointed to Trump’s advisory councils
Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his feud with Elon Musk in a series of Truth Social posts belittling the billionaire.Evan Vucci/AP Photo
After he won the presidency, Trump appointed Musk to two economic advisory councils, along with other business leaders like Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
Musk got flack for working with the controversial president, but defended his choice by saying he was using the position to lobby for better environmental and immigration policies.
June 2017: Musk cut ties with the White House in protest of Trump’s environmental policies
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and former President Donald TrumpAP Photo/Alex Brandon
On June 1, 2017, after Trump announced the U.S. would pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, Musk resigned from his roles on presidential advisory boards.
“Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world,” Musk said in a tweet announcing his departure.
Musk’s goal for Tesla is to curb dependence on fossil fuels through electric vehicles, solar power, and stationary energy storage.
January 2020: ‘One of our great geniuses’
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a “Save America” rally in Anchorage, Alaska, on July 9, 2022.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
During a January 2020 interview with CNBC, Trump praised Musk’s accomplishments and intelligence.
“You have to give him credit,” the former president said, referring to Tesla becoming more valuable than Ford and General Motors. “He’s also doing the rockets. He likes rockets. And he’s doing good at rockets too, by the way.”
Trump went on to call Musk “one of our great geniuses” and likened him to Thomas Edison.
May 2020: Trump backs up Musk in feud with California Covid rules
Elon Musk meets Donald Trump at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 30, 2020.REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
As the pandemic gripped the U.S. in early 2020, Musk clashed with California public-health officials who forced Tesla to temporarily shut down its factory there. Trump voiced his support for Musk.
“California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW,” Trump tweeted in May 2020. “It can be done Fast & Safely!”
“Thank you!,” Musk replied.
May 2022: Musk said he would reinstate Trump’s Twitter account
Tesla CEO Elon Musk.Chris Saucedo/Getty Images for SXSW
In May, Musk said he would unban Trump as the Twitter’s new owner.
Musk called the ban a “morally bad decision” and “foolish to the extreme” in an interview with the Financial Times. Twitter kicked Trump off of its platform following the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The Tesla billionaire has called himself a “free speech absolutist,” and one of his key goals for taking Twitter private was to loosen content moderation.
July 2022: Trump calls Musk a ‘bullshit artist’
Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a “Save America” in Anchorage, Alaska on July 9, 2022Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
In July, Trump took aim at Musk, claiming the businessman voted for him but later denied it.
“You know [Musk] said the other day ‘Oh, I’ve never voted for a Republican,'” Trump said during a Saturday rally in Anchorage, Alaska. “I said ‘I didn’t know that.’ He told me he voted for me. So he’s another bullshit artist.”
On Monday, Musk tweeted that Trump’s claim was “not true.”
July 2022: Musk says Trump shouldn’t run again
Elon Musk.Alexi Rosenfeld / Contributor / getty
Musk stopped short of attacking Trump personally, but said he shouldn’t run for president again.
“I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset. Dems should also call off the attack – don’t make it so that Trump’s only way to survive is to regain the Presidency,” he tweeted.
He continued: “Do we really want a bull in a china shop situation every single day!? Also, I think the legal maximum age for start of Presidential term should be 69.” Trump is 76 years old.
July 2022: Trump lashes out
Former President Donald Trump gives the keynote address at the Faith and Freedom Coalition during their annual conference on June 17, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee.Seth Herald/Getty Images
Trump then went on the offensive, posting a lengthy attack on Musk on Truth Social, the social media company he founded.
“When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it’s electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he’d be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, ‘drop to your knees and beg,’ and he would have done it,” Trump said in a post that criticized two of Musk’s ventures, Tesla and the rocket company SpaceX.
“Lmaooo,” Musk responded on Twitter.
October 2022: Trump cheers Musk’s Twitter deal, but says he won’t return
Following Musk’s official buyout of Twitter on Thursday, Trump posted to Truth Social cheering the deal.
“I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country,” he said. He added that he likes Truth Social better than other platforms, echoing comments from earlier this year in which he ruled out a return to Twitter.
On Monday, Musk joked about the potential of welcoming the former president back to his newly acquired platform.
“If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if Trump is coming back on this platform, Twitter would be minting money!,” the Tesla CEO tweeted.
May 2023: Musks hosts Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ glitchy debut
Musk and other right-leaning voices in Silicon Valley initially supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis ended 2022 as Trump’s best-positioned primary challenger. In November 2022, as DeSantis was skyrocketing to acclaim, Musk said he would endorse him. In March 2023, after enduring Trump’s attacks for months, DeSantis prepared to make history by formally announcing his campaign in an interview on Twitter.
The initial few minutes were a glitchy disaster. Trump and his allies ruthlessly mocked DeSantis’ “Space” with Musk and venture capitalist David Sachs. DeSantis’ interview later proceeded, but his campaign was dogged for days with negative headlines.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks into his phone as his livestreams a visit to the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas.John Moore/Getty Images
September 2023: A Trump-style border wall is needed, Musk says
Musk live-streamed a visit to the US-Mexico border on Twitter, which he had rebranded as “X.” Musk said that one of Trump’s signature policies was necessary during his visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, to get a first-person look at what local officials called a crisis at the border.
“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,” Musk 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.”
Like Trump and others on the right, Musk had criticized the broader consensus in Washington for focusing too much on Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine in comparison to domestic issues like migration.
March 2024: Trump tries to woo Musk, but the billionaire says he won’t give him money.
Trump tried to woo Musk during a meeting at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort. According to The New York Times, Trump met with Musk and a few other GOP megadonors when the former president’s campaign was particularly cash-strapped. After The Times published its report, Musk said he would not be “donating money to either candidate for U.S. President.”
It wasn’t clear who Musk meant in terms of the second candidate. He had repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden, who looked poised to be headed toward a rematch with Trump.
July 2024: Musk endorses Trump after the former president is shot
Musk said he “fully endorsed” Trump after the former president was shot during a political rally ahead of the Republican National Convention. The billionaire’s endorsement marked a major turning point in his yearslong political evolution from an Obama voter. Days later, it would come to light that Musk pressed Trump to select Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.
Trump announced Vance as his vice presidential pick at the Republican National Convention.
The ticket, Musk wrote on X, “resounds with victory.”
It wasn’t just his public support that Musk was offering. In July, the Wall Street Journal reported Musk had pledged roughly $45 million to support a pro-Trump super PAC. Musk later said he would donate far less, but his rebranding into a loyal member of the MAGA right was complete.
August 2024: Trump joins Musk for a highly anticipated interview
Trump, who ended the Republican National Convention primed for victory, stumbled after Biden abruptly dropped out of the 2024 race. The former president and his allies have struggled to attack Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee.
Amid Harris’ early media blitz, Trump joined Musk for a live interview as he tries to retake the attention away from Harris.
