Staged or Serious: How Trump and Musk Break up over EV Cuts and Starlink Dispute

The crypto market is getting redder by the minute as the spat between U.S. President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk intensified.

The clash triggered a market rout: Tesla (TSLA) stock plummeted over 14%, losing $152.4 billion in value, its worst single-day drop ever. Cryptocurrencies also tanked, with Bitcoin falling 4% to $100,500, threatening to dip below $100,000, and the CoinDesk 20 index dropping nearly 5%, with heavy losses in Solana and Sui. Crypto stocks like Coinbase and miners closed in the red.

Timeline: How the Conflict Escalated Step by Step

Musk Escalates Attack on Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” Urges Public Revolt

On Tuesday, Musk first labeled Trump’s “Big Beautiful Tax Act” as a “disgusting, ugly bill”, threatening to unseat Republicans who support it by stating, “The giant spending bill is bankrupting America!” .

His opposition continued to mount on Wednesday, just after stepping down as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk escalated his attack to unprecedented heights, posting a Kill Bill still on X to his over 200 million followers, directly urging the public to “vote it down” by contacting lawmakers and warning, “Bankrupting America is wrong.”

He issued a clear call to action: “Call your senators. Call your representatives.” More shockingly, Musk forwarded a post claiming America was “rapidly becoming a debt slave” and suggested drafting a new spending bill to “avoid massive deficits” and “avoid raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.”

Mutual Resentment Boils Over: Trump and Musk Trade Sharp Words

Trump’s frustration with Musk was palpable by Wednesday. In a recent interview, he expressed disappointment, stating, “I’m very disappointed with Elon", and suggesting that he would have won Pennsylvania even without Musk’s support. He implied that Musk’s frustration stemmed mainly from the cancellation of the EV mandate, and hinted that while Musk hadn’t publicly criticized him yet, such comments might be coming soon.

Below this interview post, Musk fired back, criticizing, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” and adding, “Such ingratitude”.

Peak Tension: Explosive Accusations On Thursday, Musk escalated his public opposition by accusing Trump of ties to Jeffrey Epstein, while endorsing a social media call for Trump’s impeachment and replacement by Vice President J.D. Vance.

In a further escalation, Musk responded to Trump’s threat to cancel government contracts with his companies by announcing that SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.

Meanwhile, Trump’s frustration erupted on Truth Social, “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. Elon went CRAZY after I canned the Electric Car Mandates, which were a Disaster waiting to happen, and he knows it. I told him, ‘Elon, you are FIRED!’”.

Complex Conflicts Behind the Rift

The rift between Musk and the Trump administration extends far beyond the tax bill, rooted in a series of deeper grievances. According to media reports citing informed sources, the true catalyst was the White House’s withdrawal of Jared Isaacman’s nomination as NASA administrator.

Additionally, the conflict includes the White House’s rejection of Musk’s proposal to integrate his Starlink satellite system with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Another point of contention was Musk’s desire to continue serving as a “special government employee” for an additional 130 days, a request also denied.

Market Frenzy: Memecoins and Crypto Challenges

While Trump and Musk were locked in a fiery war of words, the crypto market was quick to capitalize on the chaos — fueling new sparks of speculation and hype.

The feud had already birthed another memecoin. Musk-feud-inspired “Kill Big Beautiful Bill” (KBBB) saw an initial surge after launching on pump.fun, climbing over 300% in value within only hours of its debut on Wednesday, reaching a market cap of $53 million. As of press time, KBBB has crashed over 50% from its peak.

The memecoin launch platform Pump.fun also voiced support on X, encouraging Musk to issue his own token to counter the TRUMP coin. By jumping into the hottest topic of the moment, Pump.fun may also be building momentum for its upcoming community token launch and public sale scheduled in two weeks.

Polymarket Bets: A High-Stakes Showdown

The Trump-Musk saga has also taken over prediction markets, with Polymarket becoming a hotbed for bets on their feud. Traders have poured millions into wagers on various outcomes of the conflict.

With users betting on everything from potential SpaceX contract cancellations to the likelihood of Musk’s public statements prompting further market dips, reflecting the intense public fascination with this high-stakes showdown.

Betting activity on Polymarket shows over $519,000 wagered on the possibility of Trump being impeached in 2025. The “Yes” shares are trading at $0.11, indicating just an 11% implied probability, while “No” contracts trade at $0.80. The odds suggest traders currently view impeachment as unlikely — though sentiment could shift rapidly as the political drama continues to unfold.

Market Odds, Investor Insight, and What Comes Next

The Polymarket bets highlight the thrilling spectacle this feud has become, captivating traders and onlookers alike.

But amid the frenzy, prominent investor Naval pointed out that Musk and Trump are mutually dependent. He emphasized that the tech industry needs Republican support in the present, while Republicans rely on tech for future growth. Naval suggested that abandoning some of the tax cuts would be a wiser move to help push the bill forward.

How this clash between two globally influential figures will unfold remains to be seen—it may well set off a chain of butterfly effects. Amid the heightened volatility, when you enjoy the spectacle, BlockFlow should remind you to invest with caution.