President Donald Trump said he is open to deporting Elon Musk and warned he may sick DOGE on the Tesla founder, saying it could ‘eat Elon.’
‘I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look,’ the president told Daily Mail on Tuesday when asked about deporting Musk.
‘We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,’ Trump added.
The president blasted his former ‘first buddy’ after Musk turned on his ‘one big, beautiful bill.’
Once close allies, the two individuals have now found their relationship strained, after Musk became a major opponent of Trump’s key tax cut and spending proposals. Although Musk is originally from South Africa, he is now a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Musk has been outspoken against the ‘big, beautiful bill,’ criticizing it for reducing subsidies for electric vehicles and contributing to the increase in the national deficit. His opposition surfaced during more than 20 hours of Senate discussions about the bill, which is anticipated to be put to a final vote on Tuesday.
If the legislation is approved, Musk has warned that he may promptly establish a new political party, a move that might jeopardize the Republican control in Washington.
President Donald Trump didn’t rule out deporting Elon Musk
Trump shrugged off Musk’s criticism and warned the Tesla founder has more to lose than EV subsidies.
‘Elon is not getting his mandate,’ Trump said. ‘He’s not going to get his mandate and he better be careful. He might not get anything else.’
Trump also appeared to regret his Tesla purchase, which he made earlier this year, paying cash. He turned the South Lawn into a Tesla showroom in a nod to his relationship with the world’s richest man.
‘Not everybody wants an electric car. I don’t want an electric car,’ Trump said.
At the time Musk was the head of the Department of Government Efficiency and his auto dealerships became the target of protests
Trump wanted to show his support for Musk’s work. Musk was a top contributor to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, spending millions to help the president win a second term.
But their relationship went South after Musk left the government to return to the private sector. They went at each other on social media after Musk was vocal in his disapproval of the big, beautiful bill.
Their feud has only gotten hotter as they continue to bicker in the public eye.
Elon Musk has been a vocal opponent of the ‘big, beautiful bill’
It reignited on Monday night as the Senate debated amendment after amendment to the ‘big, beautiful bill’ and Musk took to X to trash it.
Trump made it clear that Musk knew the subsidies for electronic cars was not an option from the start.
And he said Musk could have to go back to his homeland of South Africa.
‘Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social early Tuesday.
‘It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one.’
He then turned the screws on Musk, suggesting his time benefitting from the U.S. government could be over and that the South African native could be forced to return to his homeland.
‘Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!’
Elon Musk and President Donald Trump in happier times – in March on the South Lawn
Musk, in response, threatened to start a new political party and go after every Republican in Congress.
‘If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,’ he wrote on X. ‘Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.’
Musk, the world’s richest man, gave nearly $300 million to Republican candidates last year.
But, in a series of posts on X on Monday, he threatened to turn on the party, writing that nearly the entire House and Senate GOP ‘will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.’
