Elon Musk posted in February that he cherished his president, patron and private pal, “as a lot as a straight man can love one other man.”
And so they had a lot in frequent: colossal egos; mercurial political opinions; compulsive social media habits.
But, it was clear to nearly all however essentially the most hopeless MAGA romantics that this rocket-fuelled megastar bromance was doomed to fail.
However who would have predicted an finish this spectacular – their relationship present process a “speedy unscheduled disassembly” to rival essentially the most explosive of Mr Musk‘s check rockets.
Trump and Musk’s feud defined
Their hysterical tit-for-tat on social media may be the stuff of Hollywood tabloids, however its penalties could possibly be grave.
The break-up has already had a significant affect on Mr Musk’s wealth, with Tesla shares sliding 15% on the information.
However Mr Musk’s social media platform and $250m of political donations performed no small half in getting Mr Trump and his supporters into the White Home.
If that cash and affect had been to show in opposition to them, it might see them out.
Donald Trump greets Elon Musk earlier than a Starship rocket launch final November. File pic: AP
And when it comes to strategic significance, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is not any peculiar firm.
In 2024, it averaged a rocket launch each three days, accounting for practically 90% of the US orbital launch market and took extra cargo into area final yr than the remainder of the world mixed.
‘Wheels come off’ Musk-Trump relationship
Learn extra:
Musk says Trump appears in Epstein files as row explodes
The extraordinary spat minute-by-minute
The big, beautiful bust-up everyone knew was coming
Elon Musk already seems to have backed down on his menace to decommission the SpaceX Crew Dragon that ferries astronauts to the Worldwide Area Station.
Doing so would have risked the lives of the crew on board, leaving the US and its worldwide companions reliant on Russian {hardware} to take them out and in of orbit.
Why does not Musk like Trump’s ‘Large Stunning Invoice’?
Neither is it seemingly Mr Trump would, and even might, take down an organization as essential to US pursuits as SpaceX.
Though the souring of relations will likely be excellent news for his up-and-coming rivals like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin launch firm.
SpaceX is closely reliant on authorities contracts from NASA and the US navy. However it could possibly be years earlier than a competitor can rival its near-monopoly on area launches.
The 2 males might, after all, patch issues up. It would not be the primary time both has mentioned outrageous issues on social media that they later shrugged off.
However in a method, the injury has already been executed.
The world has witnessed two of its strongest folks row like youngsters with no proof of the knowledge, restraint or cool-headedness most would count on of dependable businessmen and heads of state.
Given the state of the world proper now, what the lurid particulars of their row says concerning the two males is extra terrifying than titillating.
