Has Donald Trump and Elon Musk's bromance ended? Inside the behind-closed-doors conflict that blew the fuse

An insider source told reporters Musk did not have a formal conversation with Trump before announcing his exit, who added that his departure was decided "at a senior staff level."

Musk, who had been overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), came out on the defensive.

He posted on X: "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.

"The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."

It seems to bring an end of Musk's time closely tied to the Trump administration.

He leaves a day after criticising the President's marquee tax bill, dubbing it too expensive and a measure that would undermine his work with Doge.

Speaking to GB News just hours before Trump's inauguration in January, veteran GOP adviser and host of the 13th and Park podcast Adam Goodman said: "Musk and Trump going to have their moments.

"I think when you look at Donald Trump, and everyone who's had a significant relationship with Donald Trump, everyone's had their moments.

"I do think it's a relationship, not of convenience, but of ideological symmetry.

"Musk is a person from the private sector who has never been afraid to push the envelope to make massive change in the way we do things, Musk has emerged as a significant supporter of Trump's campaign."

GB News has taken a look through the time Trump and Musk have spent together and how the partnership came about then fell apart in less than 140 days.

November 2016 - Musk says Trump is 'not the right guy' to be President

Musk had less than kind words to say about Trump nine years ago.

He told CNBC at the time: "I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy. He doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States."

However, following Trump's first election win, he seemed to soften on the Republican and was appointed by the President to an economic advisory council.

The billionaire would quit from the board after Trump’s announcement that the US would be withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement.

He wrote on X, then known as Twitter: "Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world."

January to July 2022 - Trump praises Musk, calling him one of our 'great geniuses'

In the middle of the Biden administration, it was Trump who was the first to rekindle the relationship.

Trump described Musk as being "one of our very smart people" adding that "he does good at rockets, too, by the way... I never saw where the engines come down with no wings, no anything, and they’re landing".

However, Trump's appreciation of Musk would be short-lived, with Trump calling Musk "another bulls*** artist" at a rally in Alaska in July of that month.

Musk responded to claims by Trump that he would buy Twitter, posting the following: "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."

September 2023 - Musk draws ties closer to Trump but remains on the fence over support

After purchasing Twitter and renaming it to X in October 2022, Musk reinstated Trump to the platform, who had been banned after the January 6 siege on the Capitol Building.

Musk appeared to come closer to Trump's decision over immigration policy.

He said: "We actually do need a wall and we need to require people to have some shred of evidence to claim asylum to enter, as everyone is doing that."

However, by March 2024, the tech boss was still publicly ambivalent in backing either party, announcing on X that he would not donate to a candidate in the presidential election.

October to November 2024 - Musk becomes open over his support for Trump as President sweeps to victory

On a warm evening in October in Butler, Pennsylvania, Musk hopped on stage next to Trump.

Introducing himself as "Dark Maga" he jumped in the air with his hands to the sky. As Adam Goodman said: "he looked like a kid in a candy store."

Musk said: "President Trump must win to preserve the constitution, he must win to preserve democracy in America...This is a must-win situation."

Trump announced that Musk and his former presidential candidate rival Vivek Ramaswamy would lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency".

He was at Trump's Mar-A-Largo resort in Florida to watch the vote returns and the sweeping Republican victory.

Early 2025 - Tensions start to rise between Musk and Trump's cabinet

While Musk remained positive on stage, splits were starting to form between the billionaire CEO and Trump's key allies and cabinet members.

Musk clashed with three of Trump's most senior cabinet members - Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

He called Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro a "moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks." Navarro dismissed the insults, saying, "I've been called worse".

As time rumbled on, Musk started to concede that he may have underestimated the challenge for Doge.

"The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realised," Musk told The Washington Post this week.

"I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC, to say the least."

Trump and Doge have managed to cut nearly 12 per cent, or 260,000, of the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce largely through threats of firings, buyouts and early retirement offers, a Reuters review of agency departures found.

At the same time, Doge has hit a number of roadblocks, with federal courts at times propping back up agencies shortly after DOGE had moved to eliminate them.

In some cases, staff and funding cuts have led to purchasing bottlenecks, increased costs and a brain drain of scientific and technological talent.

The most recent source of friction came on Tuesday when Musk criticised the price tag of Republicans' tax and budget legislation making its way through Congress.

Musk told CBS News: "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the Doge team is doing."

One source said the billionaire's decision to trash Trump's bill on television deeply upset senior White House aides.

However, one of the bombshell moments in Musk's downfall came when reports emerged that he was scheduled to receive a sensitive Pentagon briefing aimed at covering US war plans and issues related to China.

News of Musk's involvement reportedly sparked a furious reaction from Trump who was "concerned" as Tesla has a major presence in China.

Trump was reportedly "not happy" when he found out Musk would be in on this briefing without telling him first and saw the tech mogul's involvement as a potential conflict of interest, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Musk's popularity was nosediving outside of the White House too.

An NBC News poll earlier this year found a majority of voters nationwide (51 per cent) hold a negative view of Musk, while 39 per cent viewed him positively.

Tesla facilities were being torched across the US. He lashed out at the arsonists, saying they did it because: "I am a deadly threat to the woke mind parasite and the humans it controls."

Despite this, members of President Donald Trump's cabinet will collaborate with staff from the Department of Government Efficiency across various federal agencies to advance ongoing efforts, the White House said yesterday.

Cabinet secretaries have been "working hand in hand with Elon Musk, and they'll continue to work with the respective Doge employees who have onboarded as political appointees at all of these agencies," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.