Trump ponders deporting Musk

US President Donald Trump has suggested the mass deportations his administration has been responsible for may extend to Elon Musk, as their feud continues to escalate.

Speaking to reporters on his way to a new immigration detention facility on Tuesday, Mr Trump was asked whether his former friend – who was born in South Africa but has since been naturalised as an American – could be deported in the wake of his very vocal objections to the President’s Big Beautiful Bill.

“I don’t know,” he replied, “We’ll have to take a look.”

He went on to say that the Tesla CEO is upset about losing the electric vehicle subsidy and suggested he “could lose a lot more than that”.

“We might have to put Doge on Elon,” he said, “You know what Doge is? Doge is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies.”

Mr Trump is travelling to Florida for the opening of a new state-run immigration detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”. It’s expected to initially house up to 1000 undocumented immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In reply to a post on his X social network featuring Mr Trump’s deportation comments, Mr Musk said on Tuesday: “So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now.”

Shares of Tesla sank around five percent Tuesday after Mr Trump’s threats.

Mr Trump had made similar comments on Monday, saying Musk was attacking the bill because he was annoyed that it had dropped measures to support the electric vehicles (EV) industry.

“Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Mr Trump said on his Truth Social network.

The tycoon and the president shared a brief but intense bromance after Mr Trump’s return to power in January.

Wearing MAGA baseball hats, Mr Musk was an almost constant presence at Mr Trump’s side.

Mr Trump returned the favor by promoting Tesla electric vehicles when protesters targeted them for Musk’s cost-cutting drive at DOGE.

But they had a huge public blow-up in May as Mr Musk criticised the spending bill and then left the government.

Mr Musk had kept a low profile in recent weeks but returned to the fray as the bill began its difficult path through Congress.

He has since posted a steady stream of posts against the bill on the X social network that he owns.

The billionaire’s criticisms center on claims that the bill would increase the US deficit. He also accuses Republicans of abandoning efforts to place the United States at the front of the EV and clean energy revolution.

“All I’m asking is that we don’t bankrupt America,” he said on social media Tuesday, accusing Republicans of supporting “debt slavery.” More worrying perhaps for Mr Trump is the way that Mr Musk is seeking to target vulnerable Republican lawmakers ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections.

Mr Musk has said he will set up his own political movement called the “America Party” if Trump’s bill passes.

And he has pledged to fund challengers against lawmakers who campaigned on reduced federal spending only to vote for the bill.

“VOX POPULI VOX DEI 80% voted for a new party,” he said after launching a poll on the idea on X.