President Donald Trump said he is open to deporting Elon Musk and warned he may sick DOGE on the Tesla founder, saying it could ‘eat Elon.’
‘I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look,’ the president told DailyMail on Tuesday when asked about deporting Musk.
‘We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,’ Trump added.
The president blasted his former ‘first buddy’ after Musk turned on his ‘one big, beautiful bill.’
The two men, who were once close allies, have seen their relationship take a bitter turn after Musk became a top critic of Trump’s signature legislation. Musk is a naturalized American citizen. He was born in South Africa.
President Donald Trump didn’t rule out deporting Elon Musk
Musk railed against the bill complaining about its cuts to electronic vehicle subsidies and its addition to the debt.
Trump shrugged off Musk’s criticism and warned the Tesla founder has more to lose than EV subsidies.
‘He could lose a lot more than that. Elon could lose a lot more than that,’ the president told reporters on the South Lawn as he prepared to depart for a visit to Florida.
He also appeared to regret his Tesla purchase, which he made earlier this year, paying cash.
‘Not everyone wants an electric car. I don’t want an electric car,’ Trump said.
The president purchased a red Tesla in March after he turned the South Lawn into a Tesla showroom to support Musk. At the time Musk was the head of the Department of Government Efficiency and his auto dealerships became the target of protests of that work.
Trump wanted to show his support for Musk’s work. Musk was a top contributor to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, spending millions to help the president win a second term.
But their relationship went South after Musk left the government to return to the private sector. They went at each other on social media after Musk was vocal in his disapproval of the big, beautiful bill.
Elon Musk has been a vocal opponent of the ‘big, beautiful bill’
Trump, however, made it clear that Musk knew the subsidies for electronic cars was not an option.
‘Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social early Tuesday.
‘It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one.’
He then turned the screws on Musk, suggesting his time benefitting from the U.S. government could be over and that the South African native could be forced to return to his homeland.
‘Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!’
