Elon Musk, the wealthiest individual on the planet, recently launched a fierce series of online criticisms targeting Steve Bannon, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, over his alleged ties with Jeffrey Epstein. On Monday, Musk took to X, posting, “Bannon is evil,” along with a barrage of accusations against the political advisor. Musk shared a photograph purportedly showing Bannon with Epstein, commenting, “That’s a real selfie pic with Bannon & Epstein.” He further alleged, “Bannon was laundering money for evil people,” and claimed, “Bannon’s list of crimes is very long.”

Steve Bannon, a well-known Republican strategist who played a significant role in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has recently come under scrutiny due to his extensive communications with Epstein. These interactions were disclosed in recent document releases by the Department of Justice and the House Oversight Committee. While Musk himself was also in contact with Epstein before the financier’s death, records indicate that prior to his 2019 arrest on charges of sex trafficking, Epstein had been collaborating with Bannon to rehabilitate his public image, which had been severely damaged following a 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. The newly revealed documents detail an extensive exchange of texts, emails, and other communications between Bannon and Epstein right up until Epstein’s arrest in July 2019.

The duo was reportedly arranging a meeting in July 2019, which Epstein canceled shortly before his arrest by federal authorities later that day. Although Musk and Bannon have a history of trading insults online, Bannon has largely refrained from commenting on the recent Epstein revelations. Last year, Bannon labeled Musk, who hails from South Africa, as an “anti-American globalist” and a “parasitic illegal immigrant.” Throughout the summer, as tensions flared between Musk and Trump, Bannon frequently criticized the tech mogul.

‘President Trump empowered him more than anyone’s ever been empowered, and people like me said you’re making a mistake,’ Bannon said of Musk in June 2025. ‘This is a bad guy. He’s going to turn on us. He’s also totally incompetent.’ Musk has, in turn, gone scorched earth on Bannon, posting about the political advisor over half a dozen times in the past 48 hours. The high-profile fight has forced some figures in the president’s orbit to choose sides.

‘Funny how Bannon’s fellow antisemites and isolationists have not demanded that HE come clean about his well-established, video-taped relationship with Epstein,’ conservative commentator Mark Levin wrote on Monday. ‘[Elon Musk] certainly turned out to be right about Steve Bannon,’ former Trump advisor Roger Stone wrote on X. ‘No one has done more for free speech rights, and the first amendment then ⁦[Musk].’