US President Donald Trump and billionaire backer Tesla CEO Elon Musk have locked horns on social media. A war of words between the two has taken over the internet. Meanwhile, former Russian president and Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, waded into the ongoing clash, offering to facilitate a peace deal between them.
Without naming anyone, Medvedev said in an X post on Friday, "We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D and E for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment. Don’t fight, guys."
The spat between Musk and Trump took an ugly turn when the Tesla CEO accused the former US president of hiding his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Musk’s claim, made publicly without providing evidence, has reignited controversy over the long-sealed Epstein files, coinciding with the FBI’s impending release of new documents.
Musk parted ways with the Trump administration over policy disagreements. He publicly criticised Trump’s sweeping "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", a 1,000-page legislative proposal that included a $4 trillion federal debt ceiling increase.
In response, Trump accused Musk of "going CRAZY" after losing electric vehicle subsidies.
But on Thursday, 5 June, the dispute escalated further. After Trump threatened to cut government contracts with Musk’s companies, notably SpaceX, the billionaire retaliated on X, claiming Trump’s name appears in the Epstein files, which is why they have not been made public.
