STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We are following a big breakup this morning. This is the moment in the relationship where you go back through the old photos and cry or maybe edit the other person out. Elon Musk and President Trump seemed inseparable for months. Musk brought one of his many children, X, to the White House.
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ELON MUSK: Well, if you don't have feedback with - OK, X. We'll have to - if you (laughter) - sorry.
INSKEEP: He turned up casually dressed to cabinet meetings.
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MUSK: Obviously, that can only be done with the support of everyone in this room. And I'd like to thank everyone for your support. Thank you very much.
INSKEEP: He stood up the Department of Government Efficiency, one of the world's richest men joyously firing people while waving around a chainsaw.
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MUSK: This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy. Chainsaw.
INSKEEP: And President Trump was all in favor as recently as last week, when Musk left government service.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And he's one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced. He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation, and we appreciate it.
INSKEEP: This is all history. Maybe? Because they broke up yesterday. NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben was watching. Hi there, Danielle.
DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: Hey. Good morning.
INSKEEP: I guess we should note this very personal-seeming dispute began with an actual policy disagreement. What is it?
KURTZLEBEN: Ostensibly, yeah. I mean, the Big, Beautiful Bill was at the start of all of this. That bill is the massive policy package Republicans are trying to pass right now. Musk had loudly criticized that bill for days because of the cost of the bill. At one point, Musk called the bill a disgusting abomination. And look, the bill is expensive. The nonpartisan CBO has reported it would add $2.4 trillion to future deficits. But then all of that brings us to yesterday, when Trump was asked about Musk's criticism of that bill, and Trump said that he thinks Musk, as CEO of Tesla, well, he's just angry that the bill would cut tax incentives for people buying electric cars.
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TRUMP: All of a sudden, he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to have to cut the EV mandate because that's billions and billions of dollars.
KURTZLEBEN: And then Trump went further. He also said Musk just misses the power and attention that he had when he was in government.
INSKEEP: OK. So this escalated in real time. Musk got onto X, and he said, EV credits aren't the issue for me. And then what?
KURTZLEBEN: You're right, it escalated. Well, Trump then threatened to end the government contracts that Musk's companies have. Musk, in turn, threatened to decommission a spacecraft that NASA uses, and then Musk got really aggressive. He posted that Trump hadn't released all the records around sex offender Jeffrey Epstein because, according to Musk, those files implicate Trump. Now, I should say, Musk did not provide any evidence of that, and Musk also has in the past made accusations of sex crimes without evidence.
INSKEEP: Yep.
KURTZLEBEN: I did talk to the White House. They had no immediate comment on any of that. But Musk had even more to say, including retweeting someone calling for Trump's impeachment. So yeah, this is about as ugly of a falling out as there is. All of that said, it is worth pointing out Musk and Trump were never in complete lockstep. There was friction there while Musk was still a government employee.
INSKEEP: I just want to ask how much this matters because it all feels like a TV show, an unreality show. Does it matter?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, look, to some degree, the attention this is getting is - yeah - just social media rubber necking. And definitely, if you watch Democrats and leftists online, the schadenfreude's high. But to zoom way out, whether or not this is consequential, it's remarkable because of the remarkable way that Trump elevated Musk. Now, Trump brought in this businessman, gave him sweeping power. But it wasn't a one-way street. Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars helping Trump get elected. So yesterday, Musk made it clear he thought he deserved more in return. He posted, without me, Trump would have lost the election. And he added, quote, "such ingratitude." Musk all but said that, yeah, my money should buy me power.
INSKEEP: NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben. Thanks so much.
KURTZLEBEN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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