Donald Trump sends Elon Musk back to his roots (South Africa)

The world is witnessing an unprecedented scandal at the highest political and economic level, between Donald Trump and Elon Musk. At the center of attention, as he wants, is the US president himself, whose mother claimed, in an interview in 1997, that she hoped he would never enter politics because "he's used to doing things his own way". The harsh criticism and exchanges of lines between President Donald Trump and businessman Elon Musk escalated again after the former suggested that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), previously headed by Musk himself, should investigate the massive subsidies received by his companies.

In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump launched a frontal attack on his former ally Elon Musk, suggesting that the billionaire has benefited from federal funds disproportionately and that without these subsidies, his tech empire would collapse. "Elon could receive more subsidies than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon should probably close up shop and go back home to South Africa. No rocket launches, satellites, or electric car production, and our country would save a fortune. Maybe DOGE should take a closer look at this situation? A lot of money would be saved!!!,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. According to Reuters, the response was not long in coming. Musk responded directly on X (formerly Twitter), saying curtly: "I'm literally saying: cut everything. Now.”

• From Collaborators to Rivals

The strained relationship comes after a controversial collaboration: Elon Musk led DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), a federal cost-cutting initiative, during the Trump administration. At the time, Musk advocated for a leaner government, with reduced spending and increased efficiency in public administration. Tensions escalated after Musk resigned from his position, but also in the context of a new bill proposed by Trump regarding tax cuts, but also increasing government spending. Musk harshly criticized the document, calling it "unhealthy and destructive” and accused politicians who support it of hypocrisy. "Shame on them!” Musk wrote, adding that those congressmen who promised to cut spending but now vote for the project "will lose the primary election, even if it's the last thing I do on this Earth.” According to CNN, the mega domestic policy bill now before the Senate includes massive funding for President Donald Trump's immigration agenda, allocating tens of billions of dollars for border barriers and detention centers and increasing the costs associated with legal immigration. Musk railed against Trump's policy bill and argued that the Republican policy bill would increase the debt, calling it "debt slavery." The Senate bill would add nearly $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate released earlier this week. The Senate legislation costs more than the House-passed bill, which would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. The Senate version of the bill allocates $46.5 billion for the construction, installation and maintenance of border barriers and $45 billion for immigration detention facilities over the next four years.

• What can the president do?

The Guardian also reported on what the president could do against the former collaborator: - investigate him for alleged drug use, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have made allegations of heavy drug use by Musk, which the billionaire has denied, who in 2024 said that he sometimes uses ketamine, with a prescription; - challenge Musk's immigration status, Steve Bannon, a Trump ally, once told the Times that Musk's immigration status should be investigated: "They should initiate a formal investigation into his immigration status, because I am convinced that he is an illegal immigrant and he should be deported from the country immediately."

• Elon Musk: Call for a New Party

In an unprecedented move, Musk has openly suggested the formation of a new political party, calling it "The People's Party” and mocking the current system: "We live in a one-party state-the Party of Porky Pig!”, a mocking reference to political corruption and cronyism.

• Economic and political risks

The rift between the two powerful figures on the American stage comes at a delicate time for the Republican Party. Some conservative leaders fear that this public adversity could affect negatively affected the 2026 midterm elections. Meanwhile, volatility has also affected the stock market. Tesla shares have seen dramatic declines, with about $150 billion temporarily erased from the company's market value, amid uncertainty generated by the conflict with the former president.

• American billionaires, huge losses

The economic policies and financial market turbulence under the Trump administration are costing the most influential businessmen in the US dearly. Although he was considered the most vocal supporter of Donald Trump, Elon Musk has become, paradoxically, the most affected financial victim of the policies promoted by him. According to a Bloomberg report, in just seven weeks since Trump was inaugurated as president, Elon Musk has lost about $145 billion of his net worth, largely due to the decline in Tesla shares. On January 20, the day Donald Trump was sworn in in Washington, D.C., the tech giants-Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, and others-seemed to be at the height of their prosperity. But less than two months later, a wave of economic uncertainty, coupled with political regime change and the new administration's unpredictable rhetoric, triggered a stock market crash. In addition to Musk, who was hit hard by the stock market's 15% drop in Tesla shares in a single day, other billionaires also reported massive losses: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, lost $31 billion as the company's shares plummeted and his media (notably the Washington Post) was "redirected” to espouse the values of individual freedom and the free market-a clear sign of alignment with the new political directions; Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Alphabet (Google's parent company), lost $23 billion after the tech giant's shares fell amid lower-than-expected earnings and renewed investigations by the Justice Department; Mark Zuckerberg recorded an eight-billion-dollar loss after Meta lost all the advance it had gained in early 2024. In the last two months, things have settled down, and the losses have not been as...spectacular.

• Redefining alliances

The Elon Musk case is perhaps the most telling example of the volatile nature of the relationship between politics and big business. The Trump-Musk duel brings back to the forefront a key question for American democracy: who controls the direction of the economy and politics - elected officials or billionaires? And how sustainable are public policies based on the support of influential but deeply unpredictable figures? It remains to be seen whether this confrontation will redefine the alliances on the American political scene in the long term or whether it is just a spectacular episode in an increasingly polarized landscape.