WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a dramatic escalation of their ongoing feud, U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly lashed out at billionaire Elon Musk, telling the tech magnate to “return to South Africa” in a fiery Truth Social post. The outburst comes amid Musk’s vocal opposition to Trump’s latest tax and spending bill, igniting a fresh round of hostilities between the two high-profile figures.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), had condemned the Trump-backed legislation as a betrayal of fiscal responsibility. “Those who campaigned on cutting spending but voted for this should hang their heads in shame,” Musk wrote. “They will lose their primary next year if it’s the last thing I do on this Earth.”
The post was followed by threats to publicly expose lawmakers who supported the bill. Trump responded within hours, accusing Musk of surviving on “government handouts” and suggesting he should “head back home to South Africa.”
“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history,” Trump wrote, adding, “Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and return to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE.”
Trump also mocked Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claiming the billionaire had exaggerated his cost-saving achievements. Musk had boasted of slashing federal bureaucracy by firing over 120,000 civil servants while saving billions.
Once a major backer of Trump’s 2024 campaign—contributing over $250 million—Musk has recently turned critical. He labelled the recent legislation “destructive” and “insane,” even posting and later deleting explosive claims linking Trump to Epstein files. “They went too far,” Musk later said in a walk-back tweet. “I regret some of my posts about President Trump.”
Trump, in an interview with the New York Post, said: “I thought it was very nice that he did that,” acknowledging Musk’s apology.
But the fallout has broader implications. Musk’s statement has raised new scrutiny around his fraught relationship with South Africa, his country of birth. Despite being born into wealth in Pretoria, Musk has had a tense relationship with South African authorities, often accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government of fostering laws that discriminate against non-Black citizens.
In recent years, Musk has used X to criticise South Africa’s race-based policies and called for international intervention. His remarks have drawn criticism from South African officials and civil rights groups, who accuse him of misrepresenting the country’s transformation agenda.
Musk, now an American citizen, left South Africa in the late 1980s, first moving to Canada and later the U.S. He earned degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and began a career that would eventually see him become the world’s wealthiest person, with a net worth exceeding $424 billion as of May 2025.
Over three decades, Musk has founded or led companies at the forefront of tech and engineering, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, the Boring Company, and most recently, AI. He also played a central role in OpenAI’s early days before exiting and later criticising the company for its direction.
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His acquisition of Twitter in 2022 and its rebranding to X in 2023 brought global attention, particularly as hate speech and misinformation surged under his leadership. As senior advisor to Trump in early 2025 and de facto head of DOGE, Musk’s politics took a hard-right turn, aligning him with far-right causes globally.
The latest fallout with Trump has fractured what once appeared to be a powerful political and economic alliance. While Trump still praises Musk’s innovation, the increasingly personal tone of their exchanges signals a deepening rift.
As the U.S. edges closer to another election cycle, observers say the public spat between two of the world’s most influential figures could reshape narratives on tech, governance, and billionaire influence in politics.
Meanwhile, back in South Africa, officials have yet to respond to Trump’s comments. But analysts warn that the feud—fuelled by Musk’s complicated ties to his homeland—could cast a new diplomatic shadow between Pretoria and Washington.
