How does a friendship between the world’s richest man and a former president transform into a public spectacle that sends markets into convulsions? The Trump-Musk feud, which escalated dramatically in June 2025, provides a masterclass in how political theater can metamorphose into financial chaos, culminating in $1 billion worth of long liquidations that left traders scrambling for cover.
When billionaire egos collide with presidential power, the resulting shockwaves don’t just rattle Twitter—they devastate Wall Street.
The catalyst emerged from Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”—legislation that Musk branded a “disgusting abomination” in May 2025.
The irony runs deep: a tax and spending package projected to add $3.8 trillion to the federal deficit became the wedge driving apart two figures who previously collaborated.
Musk’s opposition centered on fiscal responsibility concerns (a surprising stance from someone whose companies have benefited handsomely from government largesse), while Trump’s legislation threatened to eliminate electric vehicle tax credits—directly targeting Musk’s Tesla empire.
By June 3rd, Musk intensified his assault, urging followers to oppose the bill.
Two days later, the gloves came off entirely as both figures exchanged public insults across social media platforms.
Musk’s audacious claim that Trump “could not have won the presidency without him” represents either breathtaking hubris or calculated positioning—perhaps both.
Trump’s retort that he had no interest in speaking to Musk sealed their public divorce.
Markets responded predictably to this unprecedented volatility injection. Traders analyzing candlestick charts for Tesla and other affected stocks witnessed dramatic price swings that challenged traditional technical analysis frameworks.
Tesla and SpaceX faced immediate pressure as investors contemplated the ramifications of severed political ties. This contentious dynamic contrasts sharply with their previous relationship, when Trump had praised Musk as a tremendously successful entrepreneur and suggested he would eventually return to the private sector.
Trump’s threat to cancel Musk’s government contracts introduced regulatory risk that algorithmic trading systems interpreted as sell signals, triggering cascading liquidations across technology sectors.
The White House’s characterization of Musk’s behavior as an “unfortunate episode” understates the broader implications.
When Musk appeared to endorse impeachment discussions and referenced Epstein files in his Trump criticism, the feud transcended policy disagreements into personal warfare. The situation left many investors wondering if the page currently unavailable for Tesla’s government partnership benefits would permanently alter the company’s trajectory.
This transformation from collaboration to confrontation illustrates how quickly political alliances can disintegrate—and how swiftly financial markets can punish the resulting uncertainty.
The $1 billion liquidation figure serves as an expensive reminder that in today’s interconnected landscape, political drama inevitably becomes economic reality.
