A timeline of Trump's and Elon Musk's relationship



Many of the same people who hate Donald Trump also hate Elon Musk, who has himself allegedly faced threats to his life, writing, “Two people (separate occasions) have already tried to kill me in the past 8 months. They were arrested with guns about 20 mins drive from Tesla HQ in Texas.”

The relationship between Trump and Musk has been a complicated one. There are many facets to it: two political players willing to depart from the status quo, two rebellious cultural icons railing against liberal hegemony, two business moguls in charge of competing social media platforms, two wild men who angered the establishment, with a bull's-eye on their heads from the corporate media.

We were roughly an inch away from a hellish dystopia, unlike anything ever predicted. A successful assassination would have decisively ended American cohesion, the limits of what our nation can endure.

A brief timeline

In the days before the 2016 presidential election, Musk told CNBC, “I feel a bit stronger that [Trump] is not the right guy. He doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.”

That December, Musk joined a Presidential Advisory Forum, where he offered advice about an array of political issues. His tone was markedly centrist.

— (@)

Musk still wasn’t political at that point.

The hatred of Trump grew and grew, especially among Hollywood elites. In May 2017, Kathy Griffin posed with a mock version of Donald Trump’s severed head.

In June 2017, following Trump’s announcement about withdrawing from the Paris agreement on climate change, Musk left the Presidential Advisory position.

— (@)

The media’s hostility toward Trump grew increasingly more violent in tone, like Paul Krugman's proclamation that “Donald Trump Is Trying to Kill You.”

Then came 2020. In January of that year, before life spun into utter chaos, Trump gave an interview to CNBC. In it, he praised Musk, calling him “one of our great geniuses," on the level of Thomas Edison. Then COVID hit. And that May, Trump came to Musk’s defense in a dispute about Tesla factory closures.

— (@)

Then: January 6, 2021.

Over the next year, the relationship again soured, with Trump announcing that he would launch a Twitter alternative.

In February 2022, Trump made his first post on Truth Social. That April, Musk said, “Truth Social (terrible name) exists because Twitter censored free speech,” adding that the platform should instead be called “Trumpet.”

In May, Musk floated the possibility of reinstating Trump’s Twitter account, describing the ban as a "morally bad decision" that was "foolish to the extreme.”

— (@)

At a rally in Anchorage, Alaska, in July 2022, Trump called Elon a “bulls**t artist” and questioned his ability to buy Twitter.

In response to a tweet from Breitbart News, Musk said that “it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.”

About two months later, Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. Trump said that he was “very happy” to see Musk at the helm of Twitter, adding that the company was now in “sane hands.”

In June 2022, Musk told Bloomberg that he was still undecided. Shortly after, he cozied up to Ron DeSantis.

August 8: the Mar-a-Lago raid. Then, in November 2022, X reinstated Trump’s Twitter account after nearly two years of suspension.

In May 2023, DeSantis finally announced his presidential bid, on Musk’s platform, as what was quickly labeled the Twitter Spaces meltdown.

The relationship has thawed markedly in the last year. In March 2024, Musk flew to Florida for a meeting with Trump, possibly concerning a contribution from the Space X founder.

In May, the Wall Street Journal described Trump's and Musk’s “growing alliance.” Around the same time, CNN announced that Musk has been getting “Trumpier.” The outlet's incredibly cynical take is that Musk is in need of a challenge, namely the accumulation of “political capital commensurate with his extravagant wealth.”

News also spread that Musk was floating an advisory role to Trump if he were to win. And, as CNN, whined, "Musk has made supporting right-wing causes — and extremism, in some situations — increasingly central to his identity.” Check out CNN's proof:

He has vocally opposed Covid-19 lockdowns and embraced anti-vaccine ideology. He has elevated conservative speech on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter that he purchased in 2022. And he has pushed racist conspiracy theories about immigration.

Musk has also obsessed over the “woke mind virus,” a term used by some conservatives to describe progressive causes. And he has explicitly called for Republican victories at the ballot box, warning of the country’s impending “doom” if a “red wave” does not materialize in November.

Following the conviction of Trump on 34 felony counts , Elon remarked that “great damage was done today to the public’s faith in the American legal system.” He added, “If a former President can be criminally convicted over such a trivial matter – motivated by politics, rather than justice – then anyone is at risk of a similar fate.”

Iron man

Then, on July 13, at a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, a gunman fired eight rounds at Trump, barely missing a head shot.

We were roughly an inch away from a hellish dystopia, unlike anything ever predicted. A successful assassination would have decisively ended American cohesion, the limits of what our nation can endure.

Musk posted that picture, one of the greatest images ever captured, with his announcement on X, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.” It became the most iconic tweet of the historic event. Later, Musk added: “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”

The day before the rally, Musk made a hefty donation to the pro-Trump America PAC. Musk has decided to join Trump and a growing counter-elite. It’s impossible to know how this will shake out, but it’s clear that Musk has put his fortune and future in danger by breaking with Washington and Silicon Valley elites to chart his own path. Judging by past experience, it’s a mistake to bet against him.

Video: Rather than pay $22K to repair his Tesla’s faulty battery, the owner decided to strap dynamite to the car and blow it into smithereens



Faced with an astronomical repair bill, the owner of a 2013 Tesla Model S recently decided that he'd rather strap 66 pounds of dynamite to the vehicle and record it exploding into thousands of pieces than pay the cost to fix it.

What's the background?

Tuomas Katainen said his modified electric vehicle only worked as advertised for the first 900 miles he drove it. Then it started leaking water and producing troublesome error codes, Business Insider reported.

The Finnish native decided to have the car towed to a nearby Tesla dealership for inspection and see what could be done. A month later, the dealership informed him that the only solution would be to completely replace the entire battery cell. The job would cost him $22,000.

On top of that, Telsa would need to authorize the repair and no warranty would be offered, Katainen said.

So, rather than paying half the cost of a new Tesla to repair an old one, he opted to trash the vehicle instead — in an extremely unconventional way.

Mies joka räjäytti TESLANSA!! Tesla Model S & 30kg dynamiittia. youtu.be

What happened next?

Katainen contacted demolition experts from one of his favorite YouTube channels, Pommijätkät, translated "Bomb Dudes," to help him dispose of the vehicle.

The "Bomb Dudes" jumped at the opportunity and carted the Tesla out to an old quarry in Jaala, a remote village two hours northeast of Helsinki. There, they strapped it with 66 pounds of high-powered explosives and set up cameras to capture the blast in slow motion.

Just before the detonation, a dummy with Tesla CEO Elon Musk's face was flown in on a helicopter to operate the vehicle as it met its fate. Then the crew retreated to a blast shelter, Katainen pressed the button, and the car was no more.

A short pause was followed by a massive flash-bang as a charge ran along the detonation cord and the dynamite sticks erupted in fire.

What else?

Tesla's standard warranty for a Model S covers eight years or 150,000 miles, but Business Insider noted that it "may be voided if the battery is opened or serviced by anyone not authorized by Tesla" and that it doesn't cover "damage resulting from intentional actions," such as modifications.

In Katainen's case, the exorbitant cost of a battery replacement effectively forced him to give up on the vehicle and at least get some enjoyment out of its demise.

Thankfully, his Tesla explosion was intentional. Others have not been so fortunate.

Man buys top-of-line Tesla — and 3 days later becomes trapped as it catches fire during drive and burns to the ground



A man's Tesla Model S Plaid electric car burst into flames on Tuesday while he was driving, Reuters reported — and the fire broke out just three days after the man took delivery of the top-of-the-line Tesla.

In June, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the new sedan is "faster than any Porsche, safer than any Volvo."

What are the details?

Mark Geragos, an attorney for the driver — identified only as an "executive entrepreneur" — said his client was driving when he noticed smoke, and soon, fire.

Geragos told the news agency that his client was initially unable to free himself from the vehicle as the flames shot across the vehicle because its electronic door system failed.

The man instead had to "use force to push it open" and was eventually able to extricate himself from the vehicle, which quickly erupted in a "fireball."

"The car continued to move for about 35 feet to 40 feet ... before turning into a 'fireball' in a residential area near the owner's Pennsylvania home," Reuters reported.

Geragos told Insider that his client "had not done anything to damage the car and that the incident seemed 'completely spontaneous.'"

He also told the Washington Post that the car became completely engulfed just moments after the man was able to free himself from the vehicle.

"It was a harrowing and horrifying experience," Geragos said in a statement. "This is a brand-new model. ... We are doing an investigation. We are calling for the S Plaid to be grounded, not to be on the road until we get to the bottom of this."

Reuters noted that a spokesperson for Tesla "did not have an immediate comment" on the incident.

Tesla top-of-range car caught fire while owner was driving, lawyer says https://t.co/bvAFDffLu9 https://t.co/QhMvaIHnag

— Reuters (@Reuters) 1625206513.0

What else?

Insider reported that in a since-deleted post, Pennsylvania's Gladwyne Volunteer Fire Company took to Facebook where it stated that first responders "kept water flowing to the battery pack for close to 90 minutes to cool it down."

According to CNBC, two crews of firefighters worked at the scene for over three hours dealing with the fire.

Geragos did not state whether the man is considering legal action against Tesla.

A pattern seems to be emerging in recent years with regard to Teslas catching fire, as its lithium ion battery pack — which is on the underside of the vehicle — can easily overheat following collisions. Teslas, unfortunately, have also spontaneously burst into flames on occasion even when the vehicle isn't being driven.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that it is in the process of gathering information on the incident, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

“NHTSA is aware of the Tesla vehicle fire in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania; and the agency is in touch with relevant agencies and the manufacturer to gather information about the incident," a spokesperson said. “If data or investigations show a defect or an inherent risk to safety exists, NHTSA will take action as appropriate to protect the public."