A complete timeline of Donald Trump and Elon Musk's feud

Donald Trump recently hit out at Elon Musk in a series of posts on his social media network, Truth Social, following a tweet from the Tesla titan saying it was time for Trump to "sail into the sunset."

Trump was clearly hurt by the comment and drafted a three-part post aimed at Musk's "electric cars that don't drive long enough driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere."

He also claimed Musk was a "big Trump fan" and that he could have made Musk beg on his knees for help on his projects.

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Trump's rampage didn't stop there...

He took the opportunity to mock Musk for pulling out of the $44bn Twitter deal, saying: "Now Elon should focus on getting himself out of the Twitter mess because he could owe $44 billion for something that's perhaps worthless. Also, lots of competition for electric cars!"

Meanwhile, the SpaceX founder remained unfazed by his rants, responding to a screenshot of the post with a simple "Lmaooo".

He also shut down reports that he voted for Trump during the presidential elections.

Twitter

The pair's recent spat poses the question of when and why it all started:

2016 election: Musk voiced his concerns about Trump not being the "right guy" for President

Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Musk said he didn't believe Trump was the "right guy" to lead America due to his persona.

During an interview with CNBC, he said: "I feel a bit stronger that he is probably not the right guy. He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States".

2017: Musk's views on Trump's immigration ban

A year later, Musk expressed his dismay toward Trump's immigration ban.

"The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the country's challenges," Musk wrote.

"Many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the US. They've done right, not wrong & don't deserve to be rejected," Musk wrote in a follow-up tweet.

2017: Musk expressed opposition to Trump's plan to leave the Paris Climate Agreements

Musk once served on Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum with several other CEOs who advised him on the economy.

Musk believed that pulling out of the Paris Climate deal would be a mistake, saying if it were to happen, he "will have no choice but to depart councils in that case."

When the former President announced America's exit, Musk followed up with: "Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world."

2020: Musk disagreed with Trump's order to suspend temporary work visas

In June 2020, Trump announced that all H-1B, H-2B, H-4, J-1, and L-1 visas would be suspended. His justification? To save the jobs for Americans in a time of spiking unemployment caused by the pandemic.

Musk strongly opposed the move.

"Very much disagree with this action. In my experience, these skillsets are net job creators. Visa reform makes sense, but this is too broad," Musk wrote on Twitter.

The tech industry frequently uses the H-1B visa program to hire talent from abroad, as it applies to engineers.

2022: The squabbling continues...

The feud reignited when Musk hit out at Trump on Twitter, saying: "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".

Trump then hit back by calling Musk a "bulls*** artist" and claimed the billionaire told him he’d voted for him twice in the past. Reports Musk has since said were false.

Taking to his social media platform, Trump wrote: "When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it’s electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocket ships to nowhere, without which subsidies he’d be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, “drop to your knees and beg”, and he would have done it."

Indy100 reached out to Trump and Musk for comment.

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