Musk's conflict with Trump has now come to light.

Looking closely at this "lightning-fast breakup" between the two, to be honest, there is no right or wrong for either side. Both have sufficient reasons to believe that it was the other who "betrayed" them first.

[Looking closely at this "lightning-fast breakup," to be honest, there is no right or wrong]

Trump believed that although Musk had long shown disloyalty to the Republicans, these issues were tolerable overall.

Don't let Trump's casual and unpredictable demeanor fool you; he indeed has a sense of judgment. There are some people he will not turn against unless absolutely necessary.

Externally, it is Russian President Putin and the Chinese leader; internally, one is the conservative justice of the Supreme Court, and the other is Musk.

Musk showed signs of restlessness as early as March when rumors surfaced about him quarreling with Secretary of State Rubio, who was dissatisfied with the government efficiency department (Doge) meddling in his State Department affairs. Eventually, Trump intervened to mediate, and the matter was settled.

[Musk showed signs of restlessness as early as March when rumors surfaced about him quarreling with Secretary of State Rubio]

The true "reverse image" appeared in April. After the announcement of "reciprocal tariffs," Musk personally approached Trump to persuade him to withdraw the tariffs. When persuasion failed, Musk publicly criticized trade advisor Navarro on social media.

Navarro is Trump's most trusted loyalist, and Trump often calls him "my Peter," which shows how close their relationship is.

In fact, from April, Musk had already fallen out of favor with Trump—this is why Treasury Secretary Bezos later dared to challenge Musk directly at the White House, reportedly even coming to blows.

However, Trump merely ignored Musk but did not pursue the poor performance of the government efficiency department or criticize Musk over tariff disputes. On the day Musk left the White House, Trump even held a press conference for him, expressing much praise.

[Trump initially just ignored Musk without pursuing the poor work of the government efficiency department]

At least in Trump's own view, he has been extremely generous to Musk—most people don't get such treatment—just look at Bezos next door; Amazon would be criticized by Trump the very next day if they just marked tariff costs in the price bar.

But Musk believes that Trump was the one who "struck first" and betrayed him.

During Trump's Middle East trip, he sidelined Musk and supported OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's collaboration with the UAE to establish the largest artificial intelligence data center overseas for the U.S.—such a large piece of the pie, Musk didn't get any share of it.

The very next day after he stepped down as head of the government efficiency department, Trump vetoed the nomination of billionaire Isaacman as NASA director—Isaacman is a loyal friend of Musk and was recommended by Musk. If he became NASA director, SpaceX orders would naturally follow.

There are also reports that Trump has refused to use the "Starlink" network to run the U.S. air traffic control system overseas—this is another big government contract that Musk has been longing for. He has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for rejecting "Starlink," but now Trump is going to disappoint him too.

[Musk has already threatened to "retire the Dragon spacecraft," which will directly threaten Trump's space ambitions]

In Musk's view, he has staked everything on Trump, but he ended up getting nothing substantial and instead got caught in a mess.

The only listed company under Musk is Tesla. Before he leaned toward the Trump camp, Tesla's stock price was around $250. After Trump's victory, the stock price soared to nearly $500 at its highest point.

However, his close ties with the Republican Party caused strong resentment among left-leaning and centrist voters, severely affecting Tesla's sales. Incidents of arson targeting Tesla cars occurred across the U.S. Even worse, Tesla's stock price fell back to around $250 again—Musk worked hard for nothing this year.

Musk actually didn't care much about the $7,500 electric vehicle subsidy, but with Tesla's sales dropping, he had to care—after all, he needed something to blame for the declining sales.

[Musk's actions caused strong resentment among left-leaning and centrist voters, severely affecting Tesla's sales]

Even a fair judge finds it hard to resolve family disputes, and so is the conflict between Trump and Musk today. If one party were clearly wrong, it would be easier to handle, but the difficulty lies in both sides believing they are in the right.

So the show is just beginning. Both Trump and Musk are personalities who refuse to admit defeat and are extremely self-centered. More importantly, both have resources and chips to engage in confrontation.

Musk has already threatened to "retire the Dragon spacecraft," which will directly threaten Trump's space ambitions: "Space Force" was initiated by Trump in version 1.0; in version 2.0, he aims to return to the moon and implement the "Artemis" plan.

Moreover, Musk owns X, an important social media platform—compared to Trump's "Truth Social," which is merely a circle for MAGA supporters.

However, from both historical and practical perspectives, official-business conflicts usually end with the "official winning." Even as the world's richest man with immense public opinion influence, Musk may not be able to compete with a "fully armed" Trump.

Stepping back, even if Trump could give him a break, Musk might not escape unscathed: the left has already labeled him negatively, and now he risks offending MAGA and other right-wing groups, which will likely further reduce Tesla's sales.

No wonder Musk now wants to form a new political party—caught between left and right, he can only take a hard path to forge a new way forward, but it's extremely difficult, and the final outcome may only be "bleeding from head injuries along the way."

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7512719485506290217/

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