Elon Musk dropped a bombshell accusation, claiming his former close friend Donald Trump appears in the Epstein files.
The claim was part of a spectacular war of words between the world’s most powerful men, with the president claiming the Tesla boss has “Trump derangement syndrome”, and Mr Musk insisting Mr Trump only won the election because of him.
Mr Musk said in a post on X: “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!”
Earlier in the day Mr Trump told reporters during a sit-down with Friedrich Merz, Germany’s new chancellor: “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore.”
In February, Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, pledged to release all of the information the government holds on Epstein, which have come to be colloquially known as the “Epstein files”.
She invited a select group of pro-Maga influencers to the White House where they were handed binders containing what she said was “Phase One” of the full document release.
However, the 200-page document contained only phone-book contacts and flight logs, most of which have been available since 2015, and no date has been set for releasing the remaining files.
Trump attempted to quash Elon Musk’s criticism of his “big, beautiful bill” during an Oval Office meeting with Germany’s Freidreich Merz earlier today.
Mr Musk in recent days labelled the legislation the “Debt Slavery Bill” in a sharp reversal from the good terms on which he left the White House last Friday.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Mr Trump said he had a “good relationship” with Mr Musk but said “I don’t know if we will any more”.
Mr Trump went on to say he was “surprised” by Mr Musk’s criticism after he was given a “wonderful send off” at the White House last week.
The US president continued: “I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill…he only developed a problem when we knew we were going to cut the electric vehicle mandate.”
“I’m very disappointed in Elon, I’ve helped him a lot.”
The White House initially sought to play down rumours of a rift between Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Last Friday, Mr Trump gave his Doge adviser a royal send-off in the Oval Office, presenting him with a golden key to the White House.
After accepting the gift, Musk told reporters in the Oval Office that he would make good use of it.
“I’ll continue to be visiting here and be a friend and adviser to the president,” he said.
But just days later, Mr Trump began to blast his former boss and allies on social media, warning of reprisals at the midterm elections in 2026.
In an apparent bid to play down tensions, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Wednseday: “Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this Bill.
“It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
By Agencies