Elon Musk deleted his social media post in which he had claimed that President Donald Trump's name was present in the confidential files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Musk's deleted post, that had quickly garnered attention before its removal, had alleged that Trump's purported inclusion in these classified documents was the actual reason behind the delayed public disclosure of the Epstein files. Musk had explicitly urged his followers to "mark this post for the future," suggesting that the "truth" he was hinting at would eventually be revealed.
His original, now-deleted statement said, “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT! Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
Tesla Inc. stock became a casualty over Musk's public spat with Trump on Thursday. The share price plunged nearly 18% during New York trading hours, wiping more than $180 billion off the automaker's market value at one point, as per Bloomberg data. The stock settled 14.3% lower, vapourising $152 billion in value.
Trump had said he is "very disappointed" with Musk for repeatedly criticising a contentious government budget plan. Musk responded saying Trump would have lost the 2024 election without him. Further, Trump expressed disinterest in holding a call with Musk after their falling out over the 'One Big Beautiful Bill'.
After having initially scheduled a call with Musk, a White House official said: "There are no plans for President Trump to hold a call with Elon Musk on Friday."
The feud had escalated after Elon Musk posted a provocative poll on X, possibly hinting at forming a new political party.
"Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?" the billionaire entrepreneur asked his 220 million followers.
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