When the Musk-Trump partnership first began, many speculated how long it would last—and what would push the pair apart.
Musk’s foray into politics began with financially backing then-Republican nominee Trump, before making his Washington D.C. debut as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a special government employee.
Other sources have suggested that Musk ramping up his attacks on the Oval Office are the result of another perceived slight: Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA being pulled by Trump.
The president said Isaacman, a close ally of Musk, had been taken out of the running “after a thorough review of prior associations.”
Isaacman, who until recently led payments company Shift4, countered in an interview this week that his nomination was nixed just as Musk left Washington D.C., saying: “I don’t want to play dumb on this. I don’t think the timing was much of a coincidence.”
Musk did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
It’s unusual for the president to be criticized so publicly and not bite back.
Instead, the White House is sticking to a playbook used by Musk himself: Calling such claims a “hoax.”
In a rebuttal published by the Oval Office yesterday, the Trump administration said statements such as “The One Big Beautiful Bill increases spending” and “The One Big Beautiful Bill adds to the deficit” are false.
It adds: “By every honest metric, President Donald J. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill dramatically improves the fiscal trajectory of the United States and unleashes an era of unprecedented economic growth.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
So while President Trump gifted Musk a ceremonial ‘key the White House’ during a ceremony to mark his departure from government only last week, the Tesla CEO may find out the Oval Office has already changed the locks.
