Donald Trump has come out with a "derangement" theory about people who leave his administration after Elon Musk became "hostile" and linked the President to Jeffrey Epstein.
It was not a quiet day on the internet, as much of the world watched Musk and Trump slug it out online.
Many things were said between the two former allies, but the one that really got people to sit up and notice was a post from the Tesla boss.
"Time to drop the really big bomb," he wrote. "@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!"
We could delve into the world of media law and the inner workings of defamatory statements, but it seems like the two men are just going to keep lashing out at each other instead.
This feud began after Musk left Trump's administration and hit out at the President's "big beautiful bill".
Musk opted for a different description, calling it a “pork-filled Congressional spending bill” and a “disgusting abomination".
Speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump looked visibly rattled by Musk’s public takedown.
“Elon and I have a great relationship,” Trump said. “But I don’t know if we will anymore. I was surprised, because… we had a wonderful sendoff. He said wonderful things about me” at Musk’s May 30 departure press conference.
The president didn’t stop there. He pointed out that Musk had every opportunity to raise concerns while still working in the administration, per NBC News.
“I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill. He never had a problem until right after he left,” Trump said.
Taking a swipe at his growing list of ex-allies, Trump added: “At some point they miss it so badly… some of them actually become hostile.
"I don’t know what it is, it’s sort of ‘Trump derangement syndrome,’ I guess they call it. They leave, they wake up in the morning, the glamor is gone, the whole world is different, and they become hostile.”
Musk didn’t take the accusations lying down. Within hours, he jumped on his platform X with some serious shade.
“Whatever,” Musk wrote. “Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.”
And in a direct hit to Trump’s now-iconic phrasing, Musk added: “In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this! Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.”
Musk also denied knowing the bill’s details at all: “False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!”
So what exactly is in the bill that triggered this billionaire meltdown?
Dubbed the One Big Beautiful Act, the Trump-backed legislation narrowly made it through the House last month.
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But it’s facing a tougher road in the Senate. According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the bill would add $3.1 trillion to the national debt, including interest, over the next ten years, per the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
It would make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, largely benefiting wealthy Americans, and boost funding for the military and immigration enforcement.
Meanwhile, there are major proposed cuts to health, nutrition, education, and clean energy programs.
Trump also claimed Musk’s fury might have something to do with electric vehicle subsidies: “Elon is upset because we took [away] the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles. They’re having a hard time, the electric vehicles, and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy. Elon knew this from the beginning.”