Image source, Getty Images

Republican consultant and CNN pundit Scott Jennings has expressed his surprise at the force of the public fallout between Trump and Musk.

He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme the "personal nature of the escalation is lamentable".

Jennings says that for many Republicans, the alliance between the pair "basically saved America and put us on a path to save western civilisation".

He adds that it was a "tough day" as the world watched "something so powerful start to disintegrate", and he would "love for cooler heads to prevail'.

On Musk's claim that Trump wouldn't have won the election without him, Jennings says: "Musk was a big part of the campaign but Donald Trump won for Donald Trump. It was his name on the ballot."

Image source, Getty Images

We've been hearing from author Ashlee Vance this morning. He wrote the 2015 biography Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future and has been familiar with the tech billionaire for a decade.

"When I got to know him he was much shier, he grew up as a loner and an outcast. It is only as his businesses have done well and his celebrity has grown that he's evolved into this role," Vance tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He adds that when speaking to Musk in person he is not the "caricature you see on X taking shots at people and making sometimes bad jokes".

On the public spat between Trump and Musk, Vance says: "This is looking pretty bad from where I sit, it's hard to see who will take the higher ground and give in.

"Elon likes to have the last word and I think Trump is the same way."

Vance adds that there will need to be some "pretty big concessions" in order for the pair to repair their relationship.

He adds: "On the other hand, this was a relationship formed on both sides wanting to get something out of each other, so maybe if there is enough to gain there is some kind of peace that can be reached."

Amid last night's back and forth, there was an indication in one of Elon Musk's X posts that he believed there was a need to patch things up.

It came in a reply to a post by Bill Ackman, who made headlines earlier this year when he became one of the most prominent Trump-backers to criticise his tariff policy.

The billionaire hedge fund manager said Trump and Musk "should make peace" and wrote: "We are much stronger together than apart."

Musk replied: "You're not wrong."

Musk could exact high political price for Trumppublished at 11:34 British Summer Time 6 June

11:34 BST 6 June

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

What happens when the richest person and the most powerful politician have a knock-down, drag-out fight?

The world is finding out – and it's not a pretty picture.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk have two of the biggest megaphones, and they have now turned them on each other, as a disagreement has ballooned into a war of words.

Trump has threatened Musk's voluminous business dealings with the federal government, which form the lifeblood of his SpaceX programme.

If he turns the machinery of government against Musk, the tech billionaire will feel pain. Tesla's stock price plunged by 14% on Thursday.

It's not a one-way street, however. After that volley, Musk called for Trump's impeachment and dared him to cut funding for his companies.

Musk has near limitless resources to respond, including by funding insurgent challengers to Republicans in next year's elections and primaries.

He may not win a fight against the whole of Trump's government, but he could exact a high political - and personal - price for Trump and the Republicans.

• Read more analysis from Anthony here

Image source, Getty Images

Following the public spat between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, US Vice-President JD Vance says he is "proud to stand beside" the president.

In a post on X that came as Musk and Trump traded blows on the same platform, Vance says: "President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads.

"I'm proud to stand beside him."

Tensions between Donald Trump and Elon Musk peaked on Thursday as the two traded insults on the social media sites they each own.

Around 17:00 BST - During an Oval Office meeting, Trump said he was "disappointed" with criticism from Elon Musk, aimed at his administration's tax and spending bill.

"Elon and I had a great relationship, I don't know if we will anymore," he said.

17:46 BST - In response, Musk doubled down on X, accusing the president of "such ingratitude". "Without me, Trump would have lost the election," he said.

19:37 BST - Trump then took to Truth Social, writing: "Elon was wearing thin, I asked him to leave, I took away his [electric vehicle] mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!"

He added that the "easiest way to save money" in his signature tax bill is to "terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts".

19:49 BST - Musk responded to Trump’s threat to terminate government contracts for his companies by saying: "Go ahead, make my day..."

20:10 BST - He then suggested, without evidence, in a new post on X that Trump appears in unreleased files held by the government related to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Image source, Reuters

Welcome back to our coverage of the very public feud between US President Donald Trump and his former adviser, Elon Musk.

The two billionaires traded barbs on social media throughout Thursday after Musk criticised one of Trump's centrepiece tax and spending bill.

Trump said he was "disappointed" with Musk's criticisms of the "big, beautiful" bill, which was passed by the US House last month and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. Musk then accused Trump of "ingratitude".

The row comes merely a week after the tech mogul's amicable farewell at the Oval Office, where the president presented him with a golden key.

After hours of sparring on Thursday, Trump appeared to downplay the situation. "Oh it's okay," he told news site Politico. "It's going very well, never done better."

The outlet also reports that the president's aides have scheduled a phone call with Musk for later today.

Stick with us and we'll bring you the latest news, analysis and reaction as it happens.

One of Washington's most significant alliances - between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man - has broken up in a very public spat.

In no equivocal terms, Trump told the media that he was "very disappointed" in the man whom he once authorised to slash federal funding.

They have now turned on each other, as a disagreement has ballooned into a war of words, writes our North America Correspondent Anthony Zurcher.

And that comes with serious policy and business implications: Musk initially threatened to decommission a crucial spacecraft owned by his SpaceX company, only to walk back from it hours later. Meanwhile, his other company, Tesla, saw share prices drop by 14%.

We will be pausing our live coverage shortly, but you can stay across this story on BBC News: Trump and Musk trade insults as row explodes in public view.

From friendship to feud: Let's take a look back at some of the most important moments in the relationship between the two men making the news today.

Image source, Reuters

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Image source, EPA

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It's just past 6am BST. For those of you just joining us, here is what has been unfolding in Washington:

• Tensions between US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk have quickly flared up, with the two public figures trading insults on social media

• Speaking in the White House, the US president said he was "very surprised" and "disappointed" with Musk's criticism about his tax and spending bill
• Musk hit back with a series of posts on his social media platform, X - he even suggested Trump should be impeached, external
• The president fired back, threatening to cut government contracts with Musk's companies
• Shares of Tesla took a huge hit on this news, dropping more than 14% in US trading
• Several hours later, Musk withdrew his threat to decommission a crucial SpaceX spacecraft that is used by US astronauts

Trump and Musk: A powerful but unlikely alliancepublished at 05:47 British Summer Time 6 June

05:47 BST 6 June

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Elon Musk and Donald Trump had forged a powerful but unlikely alliance, culminating in the tech billionaire holding a key position of budget-slashing authority in the Trump administration.

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, became one of the biggest stories of Trump’s first 100 days, as it shuttered entire agencies and sacked thousands of government workers.

It wasn’t long, however, before speculation began over when - and how - the two outsized personalities would ultimately fall out.

For a while, it seemed like those predictions were off the mark. Trump stood by Musk even as the latter’s popularity dropped, feuded with administration officials and became a liability in several key elections earlier this year.

Every time it appeared there would be a break, Musk would pop up in the Oval Office, or the Cabinet room, or on the president’s Air Force One flight to Mar-a-Lago.

When Musk’s 130 days as a "special government employee" ended last week, the two had a chummy Oval Office send-off, with hints that Musk might someday return.

It’s safe to say that any invitation has been rescinded.

"Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump said on Thursday - a comment notable for its use of the past tense.

Peter Hoskins
BBC News

Whatever you think about the feud that's broken out between Trump and Musk, one winner has been engagement on the Tesla tycoon's social media platform X.

Musk quote posted a meme alluding to it boosting X active user numbers with laughing and bullseye emojis.

And the multibillionaire is doing his bit to boost traffic as he posts multiple times about the row.

In one reply, he responded to a post by far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, external saying: "Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years …"

On the other hand, Musk has also signalled that he may be ready to bury the hatchet with Trump.

In response to a post by billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, external calling for them to "make peace", Musk wrote: "You’re not wrong".

Americans have been reacting to the souring relationship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Have a watch:

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington

Earlier today, Musk suggested without evidence on X that Trump had appeared in unreleased files held by the government related to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In response, a source familiar with the matter has dismissed Musk's allegations about Trump and Epstein as nothing new, as the administration already released the Epstein files with Trump's name included.

The source has also questioned why Musk had aligned himself so closely with the US president if he truly believed that he was deeply involved with Epstein.

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking and died by suicide while awaiting trial. Trump was president at the time and said he "knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him" but had a "falling out with him a long time ago".

James Chater
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

As we have reported, Musk’s businesses have faced challenges in China over recent months.

But Musk’s deep footprint in China has caused anxiety in Washington for much longer, including among those who are now top officials in the Trump administration.

Senior Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping, held meetings with Musk over his years as Tesla's chief executive.

Tesla’s electric car factory near Shanghai is its biggest outside the US, and has generated billions in revenue for the company in recent years.

All that - as well as Musk repeating Beijing’s position on sensitive issues like Taiwan - prompted concerns in the US around conflict of interest.

In 2022, Marco Rubio, now US Secretary of State, said Tesla was “helping the Chinese Communist Party cover up genocide” in Xinjiang, after reports emerged the company had opened a new dealership in the region facing allegations of widespread human rights abuses.

The New York Times reported last year that the US Air Force had denied Musk high-level security access.

Elon Musk has just contradicted an earlier post about decommissioning a crucial spacecraft owned by his company, SpaceX.

Musk has now said that he “won’t decommission” the Dragon spacecraft, used by NASA to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

Musk made the comment on his social media account on X, sent to his 220 million followers, in a reply to an account with just over 250 followers.

Adam Hancock
BBC News

Markets are open in Asia and a number of the big Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers have opened lower.

Shares in the world's biggest EV marker, BYD, dropped at the open in Hong Kong and are currently trading almost 2% down.

Elsewhere and big names like Nio and Li Auto are all seeing a drop in their share price.

Earlier, Tesla's shares plunged following the escalating row between chief executive Elon Musk and Donald Trump, the US president. They closed down over 14% in US trading.

Elsewhere and markets in Asia are broadly higher following the phone call between Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Benchmark indices in Australia and Japan are higher - although Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is slightly down.

Image source, Getty Images

Given the huge amount of focus on Musk and Trump, you may have missed the news that the US president held a phone call with his Chinese counterpart on Thursday.

Trump said he had a "very good talk" with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and now plans to visit China, adding that he had reciprocated with an invite to Xi for a White House visit.

The phone call was the first between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies since Trump launched a trade war with Beijing in February.

Ahead of the call, both sides had accused each other of breaching a trade agreement that was arranged in Geneva just a few weeks ago.

You can read more about their phone call here.

Image source, reuters

Let's take a look at Elon Musk's headaches on the other side of the world - China.

This spat with Donald Trump comes at a challenging time for the Tesla chief executive, as his company is struggling in China, the world's biggest electric vehicle market.

Tesla sales in China have declined for the eighth straight month. Sales of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles were down 15% in May from a year ago, according to the latest data from the China Passenger Car Association.

Chinese rival BYD also reported annual revenue for 2024 that leapfrogged Tesla.

James Chater
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

A lot is at risk for Elon Musk if Donald Trump decides, in his words, to "terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts".

Of Musk's two major companies, SpaceX and Tesla, the former receives the vast majority of direct government grants.

Just a moment ago, long-time Trump ally Steve Bannon called on the White House to "seize SpaceX tonight". Musk, for his part, announced he would "begin decommissioning" SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which NASA has used to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

Many of SpaceX's contracts are for classified projects, so it is difficult to determine the exact total value. But it is estimated to be in the tens of billions.

In the 2024 fiscal year alone, SpaceX received $3.8bn (£2.8bn), according to government records.

Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of SpaceX, has said the company has about $22bn (£16bn) in government contracts, as the BBC has previously reported. At least $15bn (£11bn) of that is derived from NASA, according to the Reuters news agency.

One of the largest SpaceX agreements with the US Department of Defense is a $733m (£540m) National Security Space Launch contract, to help launch satellites into orbit.

The Washington Post has reported that Musk's ventures have received at least $38bn (£28bn) in contracts, loans and subsidies over many years.