Billionaire Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump have had a rough few days online, ending what was once a friendly connection. The situation began after Musk strongly criticized a government spending bill that the Trump administration supported. He called it a "disgusting abomination" and even encouraged political payback against Republican lawmakers who voted for it.

The White House noticed. And Trump responded.

In an interview with NBC News, Trump didn’t hold back. He said Musk could face "very serious consequences" if he actually goes ahead with his idea to support primary challengers against current Republican leaders.

"He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that," Trump warned. He added that he has no plans to make peace with Musk. "I have no intention of speaking to him," he said.

Just a week earlier, Trump had praised Musk’s work as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a government advisory group meant to help cut spending. But Musk quit that role, saying he didn’t agree with the way government money was being used.

After stepping down, Musk began posting more messages critical of Trump’s policies. Things took a serious turn when Musk made controversial claims linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who died in jail in 2019 while waiting for trial on sex trafficking charges.

"Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files," Musk posted. He referred to yet-to-be-released government documents and hinted they contained damaging information about Trump. He gave no proof but wrote, "The truth will come out."

These posts didn’t stay up long. Musk later deleted them without explaining why.

When asked about the accusations, Trump brushed them off. "Even Epstein's lawyer said I had nothing to do with it," he told NBC. Trump has admitted to knowing Epstein socially but denies any illegal involvement. So far, no public documents accuse Trump of any wrongdoing.

By Saturday, Musk seemed to regret how things had gone. In a post, he wrote:
"I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far."

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