Can you believe that Elon Musk was actually an Obama supporter back in 2008 and 2012? And in 2016 he backed Hillary Clinton in her presidential campaign and even voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Also, did you know that Musk initially preferred Ron DeSantis over Donald Trump for 2024?
This is the same man who accounted for roughly 55% of all major Trump donations for his election campaign, in a sum of nearly $300 million and is now on the front pages of the news due to a spectacular Hollywood style public feud.
He is the same man who just severed ties with Donald Trump and once backed the Democratic president who championed climate action and government regulation—policies that aligned with Tesla's mission to accelerate sustainable transport.
This dramatic arc from Obama Democrat to Trump megadonor to bitter enemy reveals more than just one billionaire's political evolution—it exposes the volatile intersection of wealth, ideology and personal ambition that increasingly shapes not just American politics but the global public sphere.
They had shared values
No one was surprised by the strong bond that the (now) U.S. president and the richest man in the world established, though its intensity did raise an eyebrow. But like many love affairs, what kicks off with a bang sometimes ends with an even bigger one.
It was pretty natural to see the two come together based on their shared core values and common traits but probably, like in many relationships, what brought them together also tore them apart.
The two are known for having:
● Anti-Establishment Views: Both Trump and Musk are positioned as outsiders challenging traditional institutions
● Economic Nationalism: Both sides are aligned on American manufacturing and technological dominance in thoughts, words and actions,
● Media Control: While Musk is well known for taking over X, Truth Social is owned by the Trump media and technology group
● Volatile Personalities: Both men are known for impulsive social media usage, provoking reactions and public feuds
2017-2019: Sporadic Interactions
In early 2017, there was a brief bond over - and Musk even joined - Trump's Manufacturing Jobs Initiative and Strategic and Policy Forum advisory councils, though less than six months later Musk resigned from both councils after their disagreement over climate policy, which was crucial for Tesla’s growth. Meanwhile, Musk called for "open channels of communication" after Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement.
In the years that followed, 2018-2019, the two occasionally exchanged positive mentions on social media, especially noted were Trump’s acknowledgments of Tesla and SpaceX achievements. However, their interactions were limited given the focus of each man's attention: Trump was preparing for his midterm elections, the trade war with China and dealing with the Mueller investigation and his impeachment proceedings; Musk was focused on his major business challenges such as living up to Tesla 3’s production targets, and achieving rapid launch cadence for SpaceX and then successfully integrating SpaceX Crew Dragon development for NASA.
And then Musk acquired Twitter
In 2019, common ground was identified when the two opposed the COVID-19 lockdown and strict restrictions. But then, Musk became increasingly critical of Biden administration policies, his growing concerns about "woke" policies and free speech, which supposedly were the catalyst for his acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion. At the same time, Trump was out of office, banned from major social platforms and preparing for his comeback - a campaign that requires the maximum media support, even more than ever before.
This marks the beginning of the alignment of the two men. Their shared concerns about censorship and progressive policies but, also, Musk's growing influence on the media front became strategic to Trump even though he also invested in the field foreseeing his upcoming campaign and launched Truth Social to compete with X.
2024: From Opposition to Alliance
Following the assassination attempt on candidate Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, Musk immediately went all in and endorsed Trump. He posted: "I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery."
And then he hosted Trump on X fora - livestreamed conversation which actively gave Trump the X stage. Within two months Musk became Trump's largest donor, contributing nearly $291 million. He also created America PAC to support Trump and help him overcome his fundraising challenges, masking his legal cases and appealing to the centrist voters over Biden/Harris by showing the world his personal shift. Finally, he turned X into the key platform for pro-Trump messaging
What happened? The rise and fall of the partnership
The whole world was on its feet watching the 3-month-long Trump-Musk honeymoon - from Musk’s prominent appearance at Trump's inauguration in January, to his regular appearances in Oval Office meetings, to leveraging Musk’s business success into a significant role in government efficiency initiatives. In addition, there was a priceless photograph any brand manager would die for when Trump and Musk were photographed together in Tesla Model S on the White House lawn, as well as SpaceX securing increased government contracts which accounted for about 60% of the U.S. space budget, Tesla benefiting from favorable EV policies, and X turning into the administration communication tool.
June 2025: All hell broke lose
But this is not the first Trump-Musk breakup. The first was in 2017, yet it was much more subtle and unspoken. But here is where values and vision come in to play.
Though making America great again is a shared vision, the true vision for Musk is his brand while Trump has his own greatness on his mind. And their common values are now a cause of a clash: Both require being the smartest person in the room, Neither can sustainably defer to the other's expertise and both need to be the primary decision-maker though there is only one president to the United states of America.
While the president is more relationship-focused, loyalty-demanding and emotionally reactive, Musk is task-focused, merit-demanding and intellectually dismissive. Therefore what erupted (out in the open) less than a week ago as a public feud over Trump's tax and spending bill and the presidents domestic policy legislation took a personal turn and had a snowball effect when Musk claimed publicly that Trump appears in unsealed Epstein files; Trump responded by calling Musk "CRAZY," and breaking up with him through the media, which is a huge trigger for Musk’s ego and business mission.
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On the World Order level, it is not clear that there will be a huge long term effect unless Musk decides to support the “dark forces” with his businesses, especially SpaceX. This bitter public feud has a high chance of turning what started as mutual idealization into a narcissistic rage and into the need for revenge.
Personally, I would hope that the focus of national interest and the international challenges that need to be addressed and the mutual self-interest of the two men will override their emotional reactions and lead to a Cold War détente - moving their public hostility behind-scenes as the two realize mutual destruction serves neither's interests and they then will avoid direct confrontation as their attack intensity gradually decreases and returns, like in 2017, to a selective re-engagement and maybe even limited cooperation on areas of shared benefit like space policy and the competition with China.
But only time will tell if these world leaders will choose rational and maybe even a 'romantic' ending to this affair or to fully clash, leaving the global interest behind.
Nili Goldberg is an entrepreneur, tech expert, author and leader of Acceleration Strategies for Companies and Investors.