Special Edition: Trump vs. Elon — The $200B Fallout

🇺🇸🚀 Billionaire vs. President: Inside the Musk-Trump Fallout That Shook Markets, Politics, and Space

It started with a tax bill.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, publicly bashed President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tax and spending bill. Calling it a “fiscal nightmare” and a "disgusting abomination," Musk accused the administration of bloating the budget while slashing electric vehicle (EV) credits that had long benefited Tesla.

Trump, never one to let criticism slide, fired back in a White House press conference. He dismissed Elon’s outrage as self-serving, blaming his fury on the removal of EV tax credits and the rejection of his preferred NASA pick, Jared Isaacman. “Elon is upset because we took the EV mandate,” Trump said. “He knew it... a long time ago.”

Musk, unrelenting, responded on X with a sarcastic “Whatever” and doubled down, slamming the bill’s "mountain of disgusting pork" and rejecting claims that he had prior knowledge of the credit cuts. He took it further: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election.”

Then came the retaliation.

Trump threatened to revoke all federal contracts tied to Musk’s businesses, including SpaceX and Starlink. In response, Musk announced that SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft, the only American vehicle capable of sending astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

This wasn’t just tech drama. It was a crisis. NASA has no ready replacement for Dragon, and the Artemis program’s schedule now hung in limbo. The entire line—from Cargo Dragon to the future-facing Dragon XL, was suddenly on the chopping block.

Markets felt the aftershock immediately.

Tesla stock plunged 15%, wiping out over $150 billion in market value—the single worst drop in company history. Musk personally lost $27 billion in net worth in a matter of hours. By the week’s end, that number ballooned to nearly $200 billion.

The broader crypto market followed suit. Coinglass reported nearly $1 billion in liquidations, with Bitcoin and Ethereum both falling sharply. TRUMP, the meme coin tied to the president, dropped over 11%. Over 227,000 traders were liquidated in 24 hours.

The feud only escalated.

Musk accused Trump of hiding Epstein-related files, implying the president had more to fear than disclosed. Trump dismissed him as someone who had "lost his mind" and claimed he had fired Musk from his advisory role in the administration.

Even Musk’s $5 billion debt offering for xAI, managed by Morgan Stanley, got caught in the crossfire. What was supposed to be an AI-fueled win turned into a PR mess. Tesla loans dropped, investor confidence wavered, and the entire deal looked at risk.

By Friday, the gloves were off.

White House staff reportedly tried to arrange a peace call. But on live television, Trump shut it down: “You mean the man who has lost his mind?” He told ABC News he had no intention of speaking to Musk.

Musk, on the other hand, began walking back his threats. After posting that SpaceX would decommission Dragon, he reversed course in response to public backlash. "Cooling off," he said. But the damage was done. Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver called Musk’s threat to astronauts’ safety "untenable."

Political and business alliances fractured.

Republican lawmakers began publicly siding with Trump. Congressman Troy Nehls said, “You’ve lost your damn mind.” House Speaker Mike Johnson texted Musk, trying to explain the bill, but emphasized: “If there is one person to credit for 2024, it’s Donald J. Trump.”

Still, not everyone turned. A few outliers like Rep. Warren Davidson and Rep. David Schweikert defended Musk, saying his critiques of the bill were valid. But even close allies like the DOGE caucus’s Aaron Bean took a more diplomatic tone: “Maybe they can share a Diet Coke together.”

So where does it end?

Musk says he’s stepping back from politics to focus on his companies. xAI is moving forward with its $5B funding, and SpaceX is back online. But the fissures are now permanent.

Trump has shown no intention of reconciliation. Musk hasn’t apologized. And the once-symbiotic relationship between the billionaire innovator and the populist president has turned into a high-stakes war of power, ego, and influence.

For now, the battlefield remains digital, but the consequences are very real.

Markets, space policy, and election narratives all took a hit, just because two titans couldn’t agree on who gets to be king.

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🌐 Top Web3 Events of the Week

Summer’s Web3 calendar is stacked. From high-signal Ethereum meetups in Cannes to Bitcoin deep-dives in Prague and NFT madness in NYC — the biggest brains and biggest bags will be in the room.

We’ve picked the events that matter most this week:

1. 🧠 Proof of Talk
📍 Paris, France – June 10–11
A C-suite-heavy gathering inside the Louvre focused on Bitcoin, finance, and high-level networking.

2. 🏛️ BTC Prague 2025
📍 Prague, Czech Republic – June 19–21
Europe’s biggest Bitcoin conference returns with devs, economists, and adoption-focused builders in full force.

3. 🛠️ Permissionless IV
📍 New York, USA – June 24–26
One of crypto’s most anticipated events — expect heavy talk on appchains, AI, stablecoins, and Bitcoin infra.

4. 🎨 NFTNYC 2025
📍 New York City, USA – June 25–27
The NFT world’s biggest stage. Culture meets code with creators, collectors, and startups unveiling what’s next.

5. 🔮 EthCC [7]
📍 Cannes, France – June 30 – July 3
The Ethereum community’s crown jewel in Europe. 390+ speakers. L2s, DeFi, AI, and core protocol action.

📲 Scan and register here for these and more upcoming events: See All Web3 Events

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