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On June 7, 2025, President Donald Trump warned Elon Musk that he would face “very serious consequences” if he funded Democratic candidates seeking to defeat Republicans who supported Trump’s tax and immigration bill. Trump did not say what those consequences would be. The warning came during a public split over the bill, after Musk criticized it and Trump separately raised the possibility of ending government contracts with SpaceX.
What did Trump threaten Elon Musk with?
In a Saturday phone interview with NBC News, Trump said Musk would “pay the consequences” if he funded Democratic candidates challenging Republicans who backed the bill. He then said: “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.” The Washington Post reported the remarks on June 7, 2025; ABC News also recorded the warning and said Trump would not explain what he meant.
The condition was specific: Trump’s warning concerned Musk funding Democratic candidates to challenge Republicans who supported the legislation. It was not a statement that Musk had already done so, nor did Trump identify a particular penalty.
Why were Trump and Musk arguing?
The warning followed Musk’s criticism of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill legislation. The Washington Post reported that Musk’s objections included the bill’s projected effect on the national debt. The exchange became a public dispute as the two men traded statements on social media.
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Musk had recently left his formal role as a special government employee overseeing the U.S. DOGE Service, according to the Washington Post. Trump said he assumed the relationship was over and had “no intention of speaking to him,” according to The Guardian’s June 7 account.
Was Trump referring to SpaceX contracts?
Not explicitly. Trump had separately suggested terminating government contracts with SpaceX during the dispute. The Washington Post reported that he later said he had not given further thought to ending contracts with SpaceX or Starlink. But the later “very serious consequences” warning did not specify contract termination as its meaning.
ABC News also reported that, when asked, Trump said he had not discussed investigating Musk over his business dealings or immigration record. The contemporaneous reports therefore leave the meaning of the warning undefined; they do not establish a specific prosecution, regulatory action, or contract decision as the consequence Trump had in mind.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about what happened next?
The cited June 2025 reports establish what Trump said at the time, not the eventual status of any later action. They leave the consequences unspecified, so the warning should not be described as a confirmed contract cancellation or other defined penalty.
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The Guardian also reported that Musk deleted a post asserting links between Trump and Jeffrey Epstein and withdrew a threat to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Those were additional developments in the contemporaneous dispute, separate from Trump’s conditional warning.
Quick Recap
Sources
- The Washington Post: Trump threatens Musk with ‘very serious consequences’
- ABC News: Trump-Musk feud live updates
- The Guardian: Trump-Musk feud latest
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