TIMELINE: Inside the evolving relationship between Trump and Musk from first term to this week's fallout

The fallout between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump is an evolving situation marked by a citizens blowup on Thursday but their relationship ties back to Trump s first term and even earlier A November CNBC interview with the Tesla CEO who s now the richest man in the world took a critical tone of the now president just days before he was elected president in an upset that signified the strength of the populist movement Honestly I think Hillary s economic policies and her environmental policies particularly are the right ones you know but yeah Also I don t think this is the finest moment in our democracy at all Musk revealed Well I feel a bit stronger that supposedly he s not the right guy He just doesn t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States he later added in the interview 'KILL BILL' ELON MUSK'S CONSERVATIVE EVOLUTION PUTS HIM AT ODDS WITH TRUMP ON KEY LEGISLATIONDuring Trump's first term Musk was part of specific of his economic advisory councils which often includes CEOs but ultimately left his post because he disagreed with the president s move to exit the Paris Weather Accords Am departing presidential councils Conditions change is real Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world Musk posted at the time The two continued to have an on-and-off relationship but there were a few positive signs in May Elon Musk congratulations Congratulations Elon Thanks Elon For Elon and SpaceX employees in contemporary times is the fulfillment of a dream almost two decades in the making Trump noted at the Kennedy Space Center in May And at the SpaceX Demo- launch Trump explained he and Musk communicate regularly Well I won t get into it But yeah but I speak to him all the time Great guy He s one of our great brains We like great brains And Elon has done a fantastic job he announced ELON MUSK'S NET WORTH PLUMMETS BY B AMID ESCALATING FEUD WITH PRESIDENT TRUMPFast forward to when Musk purchased Twitter and renamed it X and brought back Trump s account that November after it was suspended after the events of Jan In Musk also stated that he would vote Republican but indicated he would back Florida Gov Ron DeSantis if he opted to seek the nomination DeSantis launched his campaign on X in a space a virtual community event forum with Musk who also reportedly significantly financially backed the Florida governor according to The Wall Street Journal However a major turning point was in July after the assassination attempt of Trump at a rally in Butler Penn I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery Musk posted Musk then campaigned for the president including a famous moment when he was jumping on stage at his comeback rally in Butler WOULD DONALD TRUMP HAVE WON THE PRESIDENTIAL BALLOTING WITHOUT ELON MUSK'S HELP I want to say what an honor it is to be here and you know the true test of someone's character is how they behave under fire right Musk mentioned at the rally And we had one president who couldn't climb a flight of stairs and another who was fist pumping after getting shot This is no ordinary voting process the tech CEO continued The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech Just be a pest to everyone he added You know people on the street everywhere Vote vote vote The tech billionaire spent roughly million through America PAC to boost swing state voter efforts including Pennsylvania By the time the presidential polling rolled around Trump and Musk appeared to be close friends as the Tesla CEO was with Trump in Mar-a-Lago on polling night Over the next scant days Musk remained in Florida and was reportedly advising Trump on appointments and plan as the transition to a new administration kicked off A week later shortly before Musk and the new president appeared at a SpaceX launch together in Texas Trump stated that Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy would be heading up the Department of Authorities Efficiency in an effort to rid the governing body of waste fraud and abuse Trump described the pair as two wonderful Americans' and although Ramaswamy left that post in January and is now running for governor in Ohio Musk stayed on and promptly became the face of an agency that made him the main target of attacks from Democrats pushing back on spending cuts that they argued were too drastic Protests erupted nationwide against Musk and DOGE including violent outbursts at his Tesla dealerships that tanked the company's stock and were labeled as acts of domestic terrorism by the Justice Department FLASHBACK TOP FIVE WILDEST MOMENTS FROM ELON MUSK'S DOGE TENURE AS IT COMES TO AN ENDDuring the first limited months of the year Musk and Trump were spotted together at several viral events including a UFC fight an Oval Office meeting where Musk's son Little X stole the show and a cabinet meeting in late February where Musk was the main focus In March Trump hosted Elon at a Tesla showcase in front of the White House amid a dip in Tesla stock where the president narrated reporters he was purchasing a Tesla while touting the company As Musk's time at DOGE began to wind down his employee classification allowed him to serve for days the newly formed agency had become the poster child of anti-Trump sentiment from Democrats who consistently attacked the billion in spending cuts that DOGE estimated it delivered Signs of fracture in the relationship began showing in late May when Musk took a residents shot at Trump's big beautiful bill as it made its way through Congress I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill frankly which increases the budget deficit not just decreases it and undermines the work that the DOGE unit is doing Musk announced Two days later Musk broadcasted his official departure from DOGE As my scheduled time as a Special Executive Employee comes to an end I would like to thank President realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending Musk announced adding that the effects of DOGE will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the executive DOGE which fell short of Musk's initial goal of slashing trillion in spending which Musk stated he still remains optimistic will happen in the future will continue its work without Musk who disclosed I look forward to continuing to be a friend and adviser to the president That optimistic tone shifted drastically on June when Musk took to X the platform he owns and blasted the budget reconciliation bill calling it a disgusting abomination and criticizing the Republicans who voted for it KILL THE BILL Musk declared the next day A day after that on Thursday the feud hit a fever pitch While speaking with reporters in the Oval Office Trump explained that he was very disappointed by Musk s vocal criticisms of the bill The president claimed that Musk knew what was in the bill and had no dilemma with it until the EV incentives had to be cut On X Musk called that assessment false Trump turned to social media to criticize Musk who he appointed to find solutions to cut trillion after forming the Department of Governing body Efficiency DOGE Elon was wearing thin I required him to leave I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else requested that he knew for months I was going to do and he just went CRAZY Trump mentioned in one post In another post Trump explained I don t mind Elon turning against me but he should have done so months ago This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress It s a Record Cut in Expenses Trillion Dollars and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given If this Bill doesn t pass there will be a tax increase and things far worse than that I didn t create this mess I m just here to FIX IT This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPAt one point Musk referenced late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in relation to Trump as part of the larger tirade in a comment that several Republicans communicated Fox News Digital went too far Other posts from Musk included a claim that Trump would not have won the voting process without his help while accusing Trump of ingratitude In another post Musk suggested that Trump should be impeached and replaced by Vice President Vance It is unclear if a resolution to the feud is coming in the next minimal days Fox News Digital communicated on Friday morning that Musk wants to speak to Trump and that White House aides could possibly broker a meeting Trump stated Fox News on Friday that he isn't interested in talking to Musk adding that Elon's totally lost it Trump also commented to Fox News' Bret Baier that he isn't worried about Musk's suggestion to form a new political party citing favorable polls and strong help from Republicans on Capitol Hill