President Donald Trump has renewed his public feud with Elon Musk, threatening the Tesla and SpaceX CEO with possible deportation. Trump also said he “might have to put DOGE on him,” referring to the Department of Government Efficiency.
On Tuesday morning, Trump spoke to reporters at the White House before heading to Florida. He was asked if he would consider deporting Musk, who was born in South Africa but is a U.S. citizen.
Trump replied, “I don’t know, we’ll have to take a look. We might have to put DOGE on Elon.”
Trump added, “DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies. Elon’s very upset that the EV mandate is going to be terminated.”
The comments come after weeks of rising tension. Musk has openly criticized Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which the Senate narrowly passed on Tuesday. The bill would end electric vehicle tax credits, which Musk strongly supports.
“Elon could lose a lot more [than the EV mandate],” Trump told reporters. On social media, he wrote, “Elon may get more subsidies than any human in history, by far, and without subsidies, [he] would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa.”
Musk, for his part, continues to warn that cutting EV credits would be “incredibly destructive” for the U.S. economy. He also posted criticism of Trump on social media, including memes and videos, before apologizing for a post linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein.
The spat between Trump and Musk has been public and bitter in recent weeks. The “Big, Beautiful Bill” now faces a vote in the House.
