When asked by a reporter whether he would deport his former “First Buddy,” Trump replied: “I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look. We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.”

It’s unclear whether Trump was being serious, as the Tesla and SpaceX CEO is a naturalized American citizen. But Musk’s younger brother Kimbal has said in 2013 they were undocumented when they started out running their company: “When [investors] did fund us, they realized that we were illegal immigrants.”

Just a few days after leaving the Trump administration, Musk severed ties with the president over the latter’s One Big, Beautiful Bill, which the entrepreneur called a “disgusting abomination.” Then he proceeded to go scorched-earth, backing Trump’s impeachment and removal before claiming the president was named in the Epstein files.

Musk later deleted the post, which tacitly suggested Trump slept with underage girls supplied by convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, claiming it went too far. The two later ceased their hostilities last month, but not before Steve Bannon, a former Trump advisor and vocal critic of Musk, urged the White House to deport Musk: “He is an illegal alien. Illegal alien’s gotta be deported.”

Later Musk responded, saying he would hold off from commenting further. “So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting,” he posted, “but I will refrain for now.”

Shares in Tesla opened 6% lower on the news. Wedbush tech analyst and Tesla bull Dan Ives said their “soap opera” remains an overhang on the stock, with investors fearing that the Trump administration could use the power of the office to derail Musk’s autonomous-ride-hailing ambitions.

“Being on Trump’s bad side will not turn out well..and Musk knows this and Tesla investors want this back and forth to end,” Ives told clients on Tuesday, reiterating his “Outperform” rating and $500 price target.

“They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth”

The uneasy truce between former political allies Donald Trump and Elon Musk had already expired on Monday when the world’s wealthiest entrepreneur vowed to unseat the president’s Republican allies in the Senate, and the president pushed back.

Nearly inseparable just six months ago, the duo have fallen out over Trump’s tax cut and spending bill that will drive up the national debt. Known as the OBBB, or One Big, Beautiful Bill, the legislation is due to extend the signature Trump tax breaks from 2017 as well as put new restrictions on Medicaid users that could see millions lose health care.

On Monday, Musk said he would use all the means at his disposal to remove Republicans who campaigned on reducing government spending only to turn around and vote for a bill that includes a $5 trillion hike to the debt ceiling.

“They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,” he posted. 

Trump responded by suggesting DOGE could cut off Musk’s companies from federal contracts, before seeking to shore up support among Republicans with a warning that if they failed to pass the OBBB they would be responsible for costing their constituents hard-earned money.

“The failure to pass means a whopping 68% tax increase, the largest in history!!!” warned Trump.

“Political suicide for the Republican Party”

The bill is funded in part though funding cuts to food stamps, upon which many low-income Americans in red states rely, as well as to Medicaid, potentially spelling the end for many rural hospitals. Democrats argue it takes from the poor to give to the rich, branding it a “reverse Robin Hood.” 

Since the OBBB is unpopular among both Democrat and Republican constituents, the administration included the debt ceiling hike as leverage. Should Trump’s bill fail, Congress would risk leaving the federal government on the precipice of default when the Treasury is expected to run out of cash sometime in August.

Musk, however, warned that the party he bankrolled in November with a quarter-billion of his own personal wealth that it could see them wiped out come next year’s midterm elections.

“Polls show that this bill is political suicide for the Republican Party,” Musk wrote on Saturday.

Musk wants to form “America Party”

Musk then went on to donate demonstratively to Thomas Massie, the Kentucky congressman and arch-deficit hawk who has become Trump’s biggest rebel in the House GOP caucus. 

Yet money may not be a match for Trump’s stranglehold on the party base. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina announced he would no longer seek reelection after little more than a threat from the president to campaign against him.  

Trump’s sway over Republicans may be why Musk is increasingly finding appeal in the idea of a third party despite their track record of failure. 

“If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” he said on Monday.

The attack by the world’s wealthiest tycoon and former “first buddy” didn’t go unnoticed at the White House. Trump, who only this weekend called Musk a “wonderful guy,” argued Musk’s opposition stemmed from the loss of subsidies. The bill strips away funding for federal EV tax credit and renewable energy projects harmful to Tesla.

“Head back home to South Africa”

He went on to suggest the United States government had “BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!” if it cut off taxpayer money to companies like Tesla and SpaceX, resorting to an earlier line of attack he’s used labeling Musk a corporate welfare queen.

While Trump has certainly been more scathing in his critique of others that impede his agenda, he injected a new undertone that obliquely questioned the patriotism of Musk.

“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” he posted.

Trump has never before suggested Musk wasn’t anything other than a patriotic American. Emphasizing the Tesla CEO’s country of birth so prominently as a potential place of refuge could be interpreted as a veiled suggestion that the naturalized citizen might be better off leaving.

It comes only days after GOP Congressman Andy Ogles argued in favor of stripping Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate for New York City, of his citizenship in order to deport the Uganda-born Muslim.

This updates an earlier version with a response from Elon Musk.