Twitter's multi-billion dollar lawsuit may not be the only thing Elon Musk has to worry about right now.
Former President Donald Trump recently targeted Musk with a series of disparaging comments online after Musk announced he no longer intended to buy out Twitter. It's unclear why the news of Musk bailing on his agreement with Twitter would set off Trump. But, perhaps, the former president had secretly hoped Musk would make good on his promise to allow him back on the social media platform when he took over.
The two have been talking trash about each other on social media ever since.
The feud between the two ignited over the weekend at Trump's rally in Alaska.
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"Elon! Elon! He's not going to buy Twitter. Where did you hear that before? From me!" Trump said to a crowd of his supporters on July 9. "He's got himself a mess."
But the barbs being thrown became a little more serious late Tuesday when Trump claimed the Tesla CEO came to him begging for help with his "subsidized projects" back when the 45th President of the United States was in the White House.
"When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it’s electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he’d be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, 'drop to your knees and beg,' and he would have done it…" Trump posted(opens in a new tab) on Truth Social alongside a photo of Musk standing next to the president in the Oval Office.
Trump is referencing the billions of dollars(opens in a new tab) in government subsidies Musk's companies, like Tesla and SpaceX, have received over the years.
"Now Elon should focus on getting himself out of the Twitter mess because he could owe $44 billion for something that’s perhaps worthless," he continued(opens in a new tab). "Also, lots of competition for electric cars!"
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Musk responded to a screenshot of Trump's comments on Twitter with an "Lmaooo" followed by a GIF of Grandpa Simpson yelling at clouds.
At his July 9 rally, Trump continued to mock Musk for the "rotten contract" he signed to acquire Twitter. Trump often rants and goes off on tangents discussing random current events at his rallies, so it's unclear why he chose to spar with Musk. The Tesla CEO is now being sued by Twitter, a social media platform that Trump views as the biggest competitor to his own service, Truth Social. While Trump publicly said he would stick to his own Truth Social platform, Musk backing out and closing the door on Trump's possible Twitter return could have very well set the former president off.
But Trump went even further with his taunts, calling Musk a "bullshit artist" for claiming(opens in a new tab) he voted for a Republican for the very first time just this year. According to Trump, Musk told the former president that he had voted for him previously.
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The Tesla CEO responded(opens in a new tab) to a video of Trump's comments in a series of tweets.
"I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset," Musk said(opens in a new tab) of the 76-year-old former president. "Also, I think the legal maximum age for start of Presidential term should be 69."
Musk also insisted in a tweet(opens in a new tab) that Trump's claim that Musk said he voted for him is "not true."
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In recent months, Trump supporters have become fans of Elon Musk as well due to his comments about online moderation, bringing Trump back to Twitter, and generally deriding the left. So, who will they side with in this feud?
Late Tuesday night, Elon Musk shared(opens in a new tab) a meme on Twitter giving people a choice of who they "hate" more: Trump or Musk. Shortly after posting the meme, Musk deleted it. Something tells us he may not have liked the answers he was receiving.
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