Elon Musk Accuses Trump of Epstein Ties Amid Explosive Political Feud

Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with Jeffrey Epstein in 1997

Elon Musk has ignited a political firestorm after claiming that President Donald Trump appears in sealed files related to disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—marking the most incendiary moment yet in their rapidly escalating public fallout.

In a post on his social media platform X, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wrote: "@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out." Musk provided no evidence for the allegation.

The White House swiftly condemned the claim. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it "an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted. The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again."

Jeffrey Epstein

The post comes in the midst of a dramatic and highly public political feud between the two billionaires, once considered allies. Musk, who formerly served as a special government adviser in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has launched repeated attacks on Trump’s legislative agenda since abruptly stepping down from the role.

On Tuesday, Musk described Trump’s marquee tax and spending proposal—a bill that includes trillions in tax breaks—as "outrageous" and a "disgusting abomination." He further criticized Trump’s proposed global tariff plans, warning on X that they "will cause a recession in the second half of this year."

Trump, in turn, claimed Musk suffers from "Trump derangement syndrome" and said he was “very disappointed” in his former adviser. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went crazy!"

President Trump has responded to Musk's criticisms about his signature tax bill

Musk denied that electric vehicle incentives were the core issue, stating, "False. This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!"

He also accused Trump of ingratitude, writing: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate."

The fallout extended to Musk’s companies. After Trump suggested cutting off all government subsidies and contracts tied to Musk, the tech mogul announced that SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft "immediately." The Dragon is the only U.S. spacecraft currently capable of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

Musk claimed responsibility for Mr Trump's election success

Though Musk later walked back the threat—replying to a user urging him to cool off by saying, "Ok, we won't decommission Dragon"—the damage was already done. Tesla shares plummeted by 14.3% on Thursday, erasing around $150 billion in market value.

Adding to the drama, Musk reshared a post calling for Trump’s impeachment and asked his followers whether it was time to form a new political party to represent "the 80% in the middle."

Musk’s father, Errol Musk, attempted to downplay the situation in a recent interview, claiming "there is no rift between Elon and Donald Trump." However, the online war of words and policy clashes suggest otherwise.

Trump and Epstein’s history has long been the subject of speculation. Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Trump previously acknowledged knowing Epstein in social circles but claimed to have had a "falling out with him a long time ago."

As accusations fly and political alliances fracture, the feud between Trump and Musk appears far from over—and could reshape the landscape ahead of the 2026 election cycle.