The problem for Musk is the future for him and his companies is not just about what he does – but what Trump decides too.
And while Trump needed Musk in the past, not least to help fund his presidential race, it’s not so clear he does now.
Noah Smith, writer of the Noahpinion Substack, said Trump’s highly lucrative foray into cryptocurrencies – as unseemly as it has been – may have freed him from depending on Musk to carry out his will.
“My guess is that this was so he could get out from under Elon,” he said.
In Trump’s most menacing comment of the day, he suggested cutting Musk’s government contracts, which have an estimated value of $38bn (£28bn).
A significant chunk of that goes to Musk’s rocket company SpaceX – seemingly threatening its future.
However, despite the bluster, Trump’s warning may be a little more hollow than it seems.
That’s because SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft ferries people and cargo to the International Space Station where three Nasa astronauts are currently posted.
It demonstrates that SpaceX has so entrenched itself in the US space and national security apparatus, that Trump’s threat could be difficult to carry out.
You could make a similar argument about Musk’s internet satellite company, Starlink. Finding an alternative could be easier said than done.
But, if there are limits on what Trump can do, the same is also true of Musk.
In the middle of his row with Trump, he threatened to decommission the Dragon – but it wasn’t long before he was rowing back.
Responding to an X user’s suggestion he that he “cool down”, he wrote, external: “Good advice. Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon.”
It’s clear Musk and Trump’s friendship is over. It’s less certain their reliance on each other is.
Whatever the future for Musk’s businesses is then, it seems Trump – and his administration’s actions – will continue to have a big say in them.
