Elon Musk has deleted a social media post in which he claimed that US President Donald Trump was named in confidential documents related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of child sex trafficking. The now-deleted post quickly gained traction online before being removed.
In it, Musk alleged that Trump’s name appeared in classified files and claimed this was the real reason for the delay in making the Epstein documents public. He also urged followers to “mark this post for the future,” implying that the truth would eventually come out.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT! Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out,” the now-deleted post read.
Tesla Inc. stock became a casualty of Musk's public spat with Trump on Thursday. The share price plunged nearly 14% during New York trading hours, wiping out more than $150 billion of the automaker’s market value at one point. Yesterday, it recovered some of those losses, rising about 4%.
The rift between Musk and Trump began over Musk’s criticism of the sweeping tax and domestic policy proposal known as the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would add $2.4 trillion to the US deficit over the next decade. Republican leaders are pushing to pass it by July 4. Notably, the proposal includes phasing out the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit by the end of 2025.
Between June 3 and 5, Musk launched a sustained attack on X (formerly Twitter), calling the bill a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled” and “disgusting abomination.” He claimed it would reverse savings achieved by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he formerly led, and raise the deficit to $2.5 trillion. Musk also challenged Trump’s claim of having read the bill, insisting the he had not seen it and suggesting a leaner version focused on trimming EV and solar incentives.
Trump, in turn, said he was "very disappointed" in Musk for his repeated criticism. Musk hit back, saying Trump would have lost the 2024 election without his support. Following the fallout, Trump distanced himself, cancelling a planned call. “There are no plans for President Trump to hold a call with Elon Musk on Friday,” a White House official confirmed. Later, CNN quoted Trump telling reporters, “I’m not even thinking about Elon Musk,” and that he wouldn’t be speaking with him “for a while.”
The feud escalated further after Musk posted a provocative poll on X, seemingly hinting at launching a new political party. “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?” he asked his 220 million followers.
In his latest post, Musk defended the bill’s proposed cuts to Medicare, which some estimates suggest could result in 10 million people losing coverage.
Responding to a user, he wrote, “This goes beyond a question of money. Even if there were infinite money, there would not be infinite doctors. The number of doctors in California, for example, is fairly constant, so if the number of patients increases significantly, there will not be enough doctors to take care of them all. This will manifest in very long wait times for medical care, even for emergencies.”
