With one month until leaving office, has the political alliance between Trump and Musk broken down?

As allies, we must also balance each other.

Written by: Penny

Recently, a heavyweight argument at the White House brought the U.S. government back into the spotlight. The head of the Efficiency Department, Musk, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Basent had a heated exchange due to their differing political views, nearly resulting in a physical altercation. Ultimately, Trump adopted Basent's nomination proposal, raising doubts about whether there is a rift between Trump and Musk. This conflict not only highlights the power clash between Silicon Valley and Washington but also reveals the complex game of power balancing between Trump and Musk, who have shifted from "close allies" to "checks and balances."

At the beginning of the year, Trump's biggest political reform with Musk was the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to promote radical reforms in the name of "streamlining government". Its core goals are to cut government spending, digitally transform the bureaucracy, and replace human decision-making with algorithms, and the core team consists of six technical elites aged 19-25. Since Trump took office on January 20, DOGE has embarked on drastic cuts, from shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to slashing the number of federal government workers to gaining access to taxpayers' private information to improve fiscal efficiency. With Trump's instruction and support, Musk withstood the pressure all the way and set off a storm of radical reform in the United States.

According to data from the DOGE official website, as of April 20, 2025, DOGE has saved a total of approximately 160 billion USD, averaging about 993.79 USD saved per taxpayer, with savings covering multiple areas:

Contract Termination: 8,454 contracts terminated, saving approximately $30 billion. For example, the termination of the lease by the Risk Management Agency in Topeka, Kansas, with an annual rent of $121,800, is expected to save approximately $964,000 over multiple years.

Subsidy Cancellation: 9,699 subsidies terminated, saving approximately $33 billion. For example, the termination of the subsidy from the U.S. Agency for International Development to the Global Vaccine and Immunization Alliance Foundation, which saves $1.75 billion.

Lease Termination: 643 lease terminations, saving approximately 300 million dollars.

However, NPR Analysis pointed out that the termination of some contracts did not result in actual savings. For example, the cancellation of 794 contracts is expected to yield no savings because the funds have already been fully committed. In addition, DOGE has sparked controversy by using the potential maximum value of the contracts to calculate savings, rather than actual expenditures.

Honeymoon Period: Political Allies' "Mutual Pursuit"

As early as before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Musk and Trump began frequent interactions. At that time, Musk invested $259 million, mobilizing all resources in Silicon Valley, along with his personal influence as a backing, becoming an important support for Trump's return to the White House. After Trump took office, as his "angel investor," Musk would naturally gain unprecedented political status and power.

On February 7, Musk openly expressed his support for Trump on social media. He said that his love for Trump is "the greatest love a straight man can give to another man."

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On March 4, when attending Trump's joint speech to Congress, the tie Musk was wearing was borrowed from Trump.

With Elon Musk's large-scale layoffs of federal employees from government agencies, a wave of destruction against Tesla cars, intimidation of owners, and protests against dealerships has swept across the country. Tesla factories have faced peaceful demonstrations and acts of vandalism, including fires at charging stations. There has also been a surge in destruction of Cybertrucks across the United States, with some owners even spray painting their own Tesla cars in protest of Musk.

Reports of damage to Tesla cars and dealerships, as well as protests, indicate that the opposition to Musk has reached a boiling point. Baird analyst Ben Kallo stated on CNBC's program: "When people's cars are at risk of being scratched or burned, even those who support Musk or are indifferent towards him may think twice about whether to buy a Tesla."

Musk has also stated multiple times that running his own businesses is "very difficult," as Tesla's stock price has experienced its biggest drop in five years, and his social media company X has also faced multiple outages.

However, such a vigorous reform is bound to harm the interests of a considerable number of people. Since the day Musk entered politics, opposing voices have been incessant. Moreover, Tesla's stock has plummeted since Musk took office, nearly halving its market value, experiencing the most severe decline in five years. This has led to a personal asset evaporation of approximately $121 billion for Musk since the beginning of the year.

As Musk's biggest political background and ally, Trump will inevitably stand by him and support him when Musk is attacked from all sides.

On the afternoon of March 11th, local time in the United States, Trump held a 30-minute press conference in the White House driveway, which resembled a large Tesla car show—Trump, accompanied by Musk, answered questions about the U.S. stock market, Canadian tariffs, and the Russia-Ukraine war while test-driving five different types and colors of Tesla cars.

"That's the one I like," Trump said, pointing to a bright red Model S priced at around $80,000. In the end, Trump chose the Model S and said he would write an $80,000 check to buy the car outright.

Trump also accused those Tesla boycotters, believing they are harming a great American company, and claimed that if the boycotters continue to treat Tesla this way, he would expose these individuals and "curse" them to "go to hell." White House Press Secretary Harrison Fields also stated: "The radical left's ongoing outrageous violent actions against Tesla are no different from domestic terrorism."

Under Trump's "endorsement", Tesla's stock price rebounded during the trading session on Tuesday, closing up 3.79%.

To show loyalty, on March 24, at Trump's third cabinet meeting, Musk wore a red hat that said "Trump is always right."

During this period, the two were still close comrades committed to advancing reforms. Trump needed a "sharp knife" to expand his territory, while Musk needed a platform to realize his political ambitions. The two were highly aligned in their goals and interests.

Cracks Begin to Show: Policy Differences and Interest Games

Since Trump announced the high tariffs policy, Trump's political goals have conflicted with Musk's personal interests, leading to a rift in their relationship. The high tariffs caused a significant drop in the U.S. stock market in a short period, and Musk's assets have shrunk by more than $100 billion from the beginning of the year to now. As an entrepreneur, Musk views issues from an economic efficiency rather than a political perspective, favoring lower barriers and free trade, and he has publicly expressed his opposition to the tariff policy multiple times.

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On April 5, at the Italian League conference held in Florence, Musk stated during a video interview with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, "Ultimately, I hope Europe and the United States can reach an agreement. In my view, ideally, it should move towards zero tariffs, effectively establishing a free trade area between Europe and North America." On April 7, Musk shared a video on Twitter in which the late free-market economist Milton Friedman discusses the benefits of free trade. Musk did not add any text, but this action was widely interpreted as a criticism of Trump's tariff policy.

Elon Musk's brother, Kimbal Musk, also criticized Trump's tariff policy on Twitter. He pointed out that "taxing consumption means reduced consumption, which in turn means fewer job opportunities, leading to even less consumption and even fewer job opportunities." He believes that the tax is a "structural, permanent tax on American consumers."

Especially for trade adviser Peter Navarro, Musk has also made many critical and sarcastic remarks. On April 8, he replied to a post quoting Navarro's interview in which Navarro said Tesla was more of an "assembler" than a "manufacturer" and criticized its parts for coming from China, Japan and Taiwan. Musk opened the microphone and angrily exclaimed: "Navarro is such an idiot, what he said here is obviously false", and then attached a community note to prove that the Tesla Model Y is "the most American-made car". Hitting back once seemed incomprehensible, Musk went further in another post by calling Navarro "dumber than a bag of bricks."

Intensifying Contradiction: Besent and Musk Engage in Heated Verbal Battle

The contradictory attitudes of the two individuals regarding tariff issues gradually ferment in the intricacies of power struggles.

On April 23, local time, according to sources, on April 17, a fierce clash broke out between Musk and Treasury Secretary Bessant at a meeting in the West Wing of the White House. Bessant was out of control and exploded into foul language, Musk responded provocatively "louder", and the two sides even escalated to personal attacks, and Bessant angrily accused Musk of exaggerating and making no progress in the matter of DOGE budget cuts; Musk also directly replied that Bason was "Soros's puppet", and ridiculed him for the failure of the hedge fund. The quarrel alarmed Trump and visiting Italian Prime Minister Meloni, and aides eventually intervened to separate the two.

The direct cause of this conflict is the controversy over the appointment of the IRS director. Elon Musk, as the head of the U.S. Department of Efficiency, proposed the appointment of Gary Shapley as the acting director of the IRS without the consent of Treasury Secretary Besant. Since the IRS should report to the Treasury Department, Besant believed this move infringed on his authority and lobbied Trump to rescind the appointment, instead supporting his deputy, Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Fokend, for the position of IRS director.

The outcome of this struggle seems to be that Besant has emerged victorious, with Trump ultimately supporting Besant's proposal to withdraw Musk's nomination of Sharpley and appoint Faulkner as the acting head of the IRS.

The anger of two senior American officials, to the extent of cursing at the White House gate without regard for their image, actually stems from the longstanding discord between them. As early as when Trump first took office, Musk vigorously lobbied for the nomination of Howard Lutnick as Secretary of the Treasury, but Trump ultimately chose Bentsen and appointed Lutnick to lead the Department of Commerce. Perhaps from the very beginning, Trump had calculated the mutual checks among his subordinates, favoring whichever side aligned more closely with his own ideas, which also laid the groundwork for future conflicts.

The essence of the conflict between the two individuals is essentially a struggle and game of power between two factions within the Trump administration. The reformists, represented by Musk, are trying to shape a new pattern through new policies, while the traditionalists, represented by Besant, resist practices that harm their own interests. Trump's handling of this event is also seen as a sign of Musk's weakened discourse power within the government.

It is worth mentioning that, unlike Musk's explicit opposition to tariff policies, Besant has publicly supported the tariff policy, believing that it is necessary for the U.S. to implement new tariffs, and refuted the view that new tariffs would lead to a recession in the U.S. Perhaps the consistency in policy inclination is also the reason why Trump has gradually leaned towards Besant and distanced himself from Musk. After all, for Trump, who comes from a business background, there are only permanent interests and no permanent friends.

Musk's role is limited to a 130-day service period for special government employees, which begins on Trump's inauguration day on January 20, 2025, and is expected to expire at the end of May. At the end of February, someone in the White House also anonymously revealed that Musk "will stay", but on March 31, Trump himself publicly admitted that Musk's business responsibilities are the priority, and did not express an attitude of insisting on retention. Perhaps, with the completion of the DOGE mission and the countdown to Musk's 130-day tenure as a government employee, Trump will gradually fade Musk out of the center of power and use new allies who are more in line with his interests at this stage.

The world's richest man, Musk, experienced the thrill of "technological restructuring of the workplace" in the political center of the United States. He ignited a prairie fire for Trump's "new official taking office," touching the interests of countless people, and reforming the colossal entity of the U.S. government at an incredible speed. What he left behind was not only a controversial prototype of "algorithmic governance" but also exposed the deep-seated contradictions between capital and power in American politics. This radical experiment of "technological transformation of politics" seems to be heading towards its final chapter. When Musk truly departs, the red hat inscribed with "Trump is always right" may become the most dramatic footnote of this brief "political marriage."