Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s rollercoaster relationship, explained: the former US president and world’s richest man go from besties to beefing, and own rival social platforms Twitter and Truth Social
- Tesla billionaire Elon Musk said he would unban Donald Trump on Twitter, but he also said Trump should not run for president again, with the latter calling Musk a ‘bulls*** artist’
- The world’s richest man successfully bought out Twitter on October 27, but Trump seems to be more focused on his own social media start-up Truth Social, criticising Tesla and SpaceX in a recent post
Billionaire businessmen Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had a tumultuous relationship over the years. In July 2022, Musk said Trump should “sail away into the sunset”, while Trump called Musk a “bulls*** artist”.
Musk has said he’d reverse Trump’s ban, but Trump does not seem eager to direct focus away from his own social media start-up, Truth Social. And besides, although the two businessmen share a disdain for the left and a tendency toward online bluster, their relationship has not exactly been smooth-sailing over the years.
Here’s a timeline of their rocky relationship.
November 2016: Musk says Trump is ‘not the right guy’ for the job
Just before the 2016 presidential election, Musk told CNBC he did not think Trump should be president.
“I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy. He does not 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”.