When Narcissists Collide: Musk Is Coming for Trump— And This Time It’s Very Personal

A Breakup That Could Shatter The Cult

Trump has some bad days, weeks, months… ahead. The Senate parliamentarian got to work on the compromises Thune used to get some Republicans to vote for the Big Ugly Bill, disallowing the Alaska carve-outs which may cause Lisa Murkowski to vote no, something Susan Collins is claiming she may do in the end as well. And by driving Thom Tillis to announce he isn’t running for reelection (because of Trump), that’s one vote he won’t be getting back. Threats don’t always work against senators. The CBO also announced that the revamped bill would add $3.3 trillion to the national debut, something MAGAts won’t care about, but that will drive actual conservative Republicans crazy. The Senate version adds lots more to the debt and results in even deeper and more catastrophic cuts to the social safety net, especially Medicaid.

And if that’s not bad enough, the world’s richest man is gunning for him. A war between two thin-skinned ego-maniacs could dominate the rest of Trump’s term in office. After an hour-long interview with a former longtime Musk crony, neuroscientist Philip Low, Christine Mui wrote that Musk “doesn’t really move on.” Neither does Señor TACO though.

Low painted a picture of Musk “as obsessive, prone to seeking revenge, power hungry and in constant search of dominance. He suggested Musk aims to explore every available avenue to establish competition with and ultimately overshadow bitter rivals. Low has known him for 14 years but doesn’t believe Musk has matured over time, and he’s convinced he never will.” A drug-addled spoiled brat, Musk carries a grudge. “Knowing Elon the way I know him,” said Low, “I do think he’s going to do everything to damage the president.”

Highlights of the first round of their breakup featured Miusk unloading on Trump’s Big Ugly bill, as well as “floating support of a third party, chiding him for ‘ingratitude,’ taking credit for his election win and even insinuating in a now-deleted post that records of the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ‘have not been made public’ because Trump is in them.”

Low, told Mui that “Any reconciliation with Musk will be ‘purely cosmetic’ and transactional. ‘He has been humiliated,’ Low, 45, said of his old friend. ‘The whole idea that Elon is going to be on his side and help woo Congress and invest in election campaigns for right-wing judges— Elon might do all of that, but deep down, it’s over.’”

A very direct threat from the richest man on earth yesterday, but extremely unlikely one he'll follow through on:

With Musk’s allegiance to MAGA called into question, Low predicted he could seek revenge behind the scenes— “it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when”— a possibility Trump has openly pondered.

The president warned of “serious consequences” if Musk funds Democratic challengers against Republicans who back his “big, beautiful bill”— the legislation that would enact Trump’s domestic policy agenda, but that Musk has scorned as wasteful pork-barrel spending.

However, if there was any lingering notion that Musk would completely retreat from politics, he dispelled it on Saturday by renewing his attacks on the bill ahead of a critical vote.

… Low sees little daylight between the Elon he knew before and the one who fractured his relationship with the president.

“A lot of people close to him will say that he changed. I don’t believe that to be true,” he said. “I’ve seen this side of Elon over the years, but I just think that over time, he got cozy with the idea of showing more of that, and now it seems to have affected him.”

When Musk came under fire for his [Nazi] salutes at Trump’s post-inauguration rally, Low, the son of a Holocaust survivor, said he first confronted his former friend with a private message. He said in the email viewed by Politico: “I am so glad I fired your dumb ass” and warned him to learn from the fate of Rodion Raskolnikov, the central character in Crime and Punishment, who convinces himself that extraordinary men are justified in committing crimes if they serve a higher goal.

Four days passed without a reply, and Low proceeded to cut contact before letting it rip in a nearly 2,000-word open letter that went viral on Facebook and LinkedIn.

“I made my displeasure known to him as one of his closest former friends at that point, and I blocked him,” he said.

That’s a diplomatic description. Low in his letter delivered a blistering portrait of Musk as a narcissist whose “lust for power” keeps driving him to undermine the very organizations that challenge his hold on it. Musk didn’t respond publicly.

According to Low, those tendencies put Musk “in a league of his own” in Silicon Valley— where he locked into power struggles with many a co-founder, from Pay Pal’s Peter Thiel to Tesla’s Martin Eberhard to Open AI’s Sam Altman. And the predictable playbook followed him to Trump’s side as first buddy, a role Low dubbed his former friend’s greatest investment.

“Elon has his own pattern of trying to destabilize companies. He wants to take over, and if he can’t take them over, then he tries to create a rival entity to compete,” Low said. “They were absolutely on a collision course, and I think that Trump tried to gloss over it by making it look as if he wanted Elon to be as aggressive as he was.”

… As for Trump, Low has some advice for handling a potentially resentful Musk: “Abide by the constitution,” and perhaps, listen to some of the tech titan’s policy preferences.

Low was especially outspoken against the administration’s ICE raids and efforts to limit immigration, arguing they will cost America its advantage in technologies like AI by sapping Silicon Valley of the global talent that allows it to compete. Many in tech circles had hoped Musk’s seat at the table would help the industry loosen barriers for high-skilled workers, a cause he once vowed to “go to war” with MAGA Republicans over.

That’s something that Low, given his experience with Musk, thinks Trump should take seriously.

“Elon has wooed enough of Trump’s supporters to be an actual threat politically,” Low said, arguing that Trump would better insulate himself by moderating his agenda. “He doesn’t realize the battle that he has on his hands, and one way to cut the support away from Elon is to actually adopt some of the things he is for.”

It was only a matter of time before the two most toxic narcissists in public life turned on each other (again). Trump and Musk both see themselves as singular saviors of Western civilization— messianic strongmen surrounded by weaklings, martyrs to their own misunderstood genius. But there’s only so much oxygen in the room, and neither man is built to share. Now the mutual flattery has curdled into mutual contempt, and Trump— who can't stand being outshone— finds himself baited, humiliated and even politically endangered by the one ally he thought was too rich and too craven to ever cross him. What he doesn't yet grasp is that this isn't just a squabble between egos; it's a fracture in the foundation of the modern MAGA right. If Musk turns his digital cult and deep pockets against Trump, or even just against Trump’s hand-picked cronies in Congress, he could do real damage. MAGA has always been a cult of personality, and the problem with cults is that once the spell breaks, the flock can scatter fast— especially when the demagogue at the top starts looking weak. Musk went after Trump and the congressional Republicans again, hard, yesterday:

Trump's response, late last night, sent Tesla shares tumbling today. He wants DOGE to investigate subsidies to Tesla and all the other Musk companies... and even floated the idea of Musk packing up and moving back to South Africa! Musk is now saying he will help fund a defense ofr Thomas Massie's in the primary Trump is forcing on him. I wonder if other Republicans will take heart from this... but I doubt it. And by the way, a Decision Desk survey of recent polls released yesterday, showed both Trump and Musk underwater with the public, but Musk far more so. Trump's unfavorable rating is 52.1% (with 44.8% favorable). Musk's unfavorable is 53.9% (with just 37.3% favorable). anyway... Read Trump's deranged, threateening post closely: