FRENEMIES: Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks it’s time for Trump to go away
The Trump vs Elon Musk feud is heating up, with Musk hitting back at his frenemy after Trump called the Tesla CEO a “bullshit artist” at an Alaska rally this past weekend. Musk took to Twitter to say it’s time for Trump to “sail into the sunset.”
I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.
Dems should also call off the attack – don’t make it so that Trump’s only way to survive is to regain the Presidency.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022
Musk may have called for Democrats to call off their attacks on the easy target of Trump, but then, less than an hour later, there was Musk taking a pot shot at the disgraced insurrectionist’s age.
Trump would be 82 at end of term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America.
If DeSantis runs against Biden in 2024, then DeSantis will easily win – he doesn’t even need to campaign.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022
At his rally in Anchorage, Alaska on Saturday, Trump mocked Musk for pulling out of his $44B deal to buy Twitter, claiming he knew all along that it would never go through and criticizing the world’s richest man for lying to him.
“You know he said the other day, ‘Oh, I’ve never voted for a Republican.’ I said, ‘I didn’t know that.’ He told me he voted for me,” the twice-impeached former president declared.
Trump told the crowd that Musk was “just another bullshit artist.” “It takes one to know one” was the frequent comment on social media in response to that quote.
Musk, a self-proclaimed Democrat, announced last month that he was switching parties, but he then backed Democratic candidate for Los Angeles Mayor, Rick Caruso, shortly afterward. Billionaire solidarity, perhaps?
According to Bloomberg, Musk was coy when asked if he’d vote for Trump in 2024, even though the social media troll hinted on Twitter he’d back Florida Governor Ron DeSantis if he ran.
In June, the flip-floppy billionaire said he was willing to put upwards of $25 million into a PAC supporting moderate candidates on both sides of the aisle.
Tesla’s Elon Musk ponders creation of “Super Moderate Super PAC” to support centrist candidateshttps://t.co/WCocxPMaJz by @ResidentSponge
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 15, 2022
He also said he’d donate $6B to help end world hunger – something that has yet to materialize — so there’s that.
The passive-aggressive feud between Trump and Musk goes back years. In 2015, the South African-born billionaire said it would be “embarrassing” if Trump got the GOP nomination for president.
“I don’t really have strong feelings except that hopefully, Trump doesn’t get the nomination of the Republican party, because I think that’s, yeah… that wouldn’t be good. I think at most he would get the Republican nomination, but I think that would still be a bit embarrassing.”
And when asked on Twitter in 2016 if he supported Trump – Musk replied with a resounding “no.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 9, 2016
Days before the 2016 election, Musk was asked about the matchup between former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the six-times bankrupt faux billionaire, Trump. Telling the host of CNBC’s Squawk Alley:
“I don’t think this is the finest moment in our democracy in general. I feel a bit stronger that probably he’s not the right guy. He just doesn’t seem, he doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States. I don’t know… no.”
As it turns out, Musk’s comments on Trump’s character couldn’t have been more prescient.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick