WASHINGTON : Maybe it was always going to end this way, with two billionaires angrily posting about each other on social media, fingers flying across pocket-sized screens as their incandescent feud burned hotter by the minute.

But even if the finale was predictable, that didn’t make it any less shocking.  After long months when Donald Trump and Elon Musk appeared united in their chaotic mission to remake Washington, their relationship imploded this week like a star going supernova.

When the crossfire finally relented after several astonishing hours, Tesla had seen more than $100 billion wiped off the company’s value.  Speculation had long swirled that a relationship between the world’s richest person and its most powerful could not last long — but the speed of the meltdown took Washington by surprise.

The wheels feel off with Musk criticising the centrepiece of Trump’s legislative agenda, which the president initially brushed off. Eventually Trump let slip that he was disappointed in his former adviser, prompting Musk to unleash a flood of insults and taunts.

He accused Trump of betraying promises to cut federal spending, shared a suggestion that the president should be impeached and claimed without evidence that the government was concealing information about his association with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” Musk wrote on X. 

Perhaps most viciously, Musk, who was Trump’s biggest campaign donor to the tune of $300 million, separately claimed the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without his support and accused him of “such ingratitude.”

Trump, not one to slouch from a fight, could hold back no longer. He posted that Musk had been “wearing thin,” that he had “asked him to leave” his administration, that the tech titan had “gone CRAZY.” Maybe, Trump threatened, he should save taxpayer money by canceling government contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies.

Speculation had long swirled that a relationship between the world’s richest person and its most powerful could not last long — but the speed of the meltdown took Washington by surprise. On and on it went, as liberals savored the spectacle of their most despised political opponents clawing at each other’s digital throats and conservatives reeled at the prospect of having to pick sides.

Laura Loomer, a right-wing provocateur and conspiracy theorist, saw an opportunity to position herself as the voice of reason. “This fight should be taken offline,” she said — on social media, of course.

The question now is whether Trump and Musk find some way to step back from a battle that is tearing apart one of the most consequential relationships in modern American politics. If they don’t, there’s little telling how far the fallout could spread from a collision between the world’s most powerful man and its wealthiest.

At stake are the future of Musk’s companies, including electric automaker Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX; government programs that rely on the billionaire entrepreneur’s technology; legislation for advancing tax cuts and Trump’s other priorities in Congress; Republican chances in next year’s midterm elections; and an entire political ecosystem that has orbited around Trump and Musk’s deteriorating partnership. 

“It’s like India and Pakistan,” said Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, referring to two nuclear-armed nations that recently skirmished along their border. “It just escalates and neither one of them seem to back down and understand the strength of each other.”

Trump and Musk were always an odd pairing, with contrasting world views and deep generational and stylistic differences.

Trump, 78, comes from old-school New York real estate and never appears in public without a suit and tie unless he’s on the golf course. Before running for president, he became a household name as a reality television star. Musk, 53, is an immigrant from South Africa who struck it rich in Silicon Valley. In addition to running Tesla and SpaceX, Musk owns the social media company X. He’s fashioned himself as a black-clad internet edgelord, and his wealth vastly outstrips Trump’s.

But Trump and Musk are kindred spirits in other ways. They’re experts at generating attention who enjoy stirring the pot by riling up their opponents. Each has sought more power to accomplish existential quests.

Trump assails the federal “deep state” that resisted him during his first term, while Musk warns about the country going bankrupt from excessive spending and promotes an interplanetary future powered by his rocket technology.

Musk endorsed Trump after the Republican candidate was nearly assassinated in Butler, Pennsylvania, and he began spending millions to support him. His social media megaphone was a powerful addition to Trump’s comeback campaign, magnifying his efforts to court tech leaders and young, very online men.

Trump rarely tolerates sharing the spotlight, but he seemed enamored with his powerful backer, mentioning him in stump speeches and welcoming him onstage at rallies.

After the election, Musk was a fixture around Mar-a-Lago, posing for photos with Trump’s family, joining them for dinner, sitting in on meetings. Instead of growing tired of his “first buddy,” Trump made plans to bring Musk along to Washington, appointing him to lead a cost-cutting initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency.

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