‘Vladimir Putin offers peace deal’: Elon Musk, Donald Trump's bitter fallout spurs memes, jokes

Donald Trump's relationship with Tesla chief Elon Musk took a dramatic turn on Thursday when the US President threatened to cut government contracts to Musk's businesses, SpaceX.

In a social media post on his social messaging service, Truth Social, Donald Trump wrote, “The easiest way to save money in our Budget. Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.” He added. "I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!"

This statement wiped out nearly $150 billion from Tesla's market value. This reverses the big runup it witnessed in the past eight weeks after Musk confirmed that Tesla would be testing an autonomous, driverless “robotaxi” service in Austin, Texas, this month.

Musk's privately owned rocket company -SpaceX - reportedly received billions of dollars from the government to send astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, provide launches and do other work for the US space agency, NASA.

Social media platforms buzzed with users reacting to the high-profile clash between Donald Trump and Elon Musk with memes highlighting the growing tension between the US president and the tech billionaire.

Social media reaction

Netizens strongly reacted to the bitter fallout between the two business tycoons and flooded social media with hilarious reactions, memes and jokes. 

A user wrote, “PM Modi got Elon Musk and Trump to call a ceasefire.”

Another user remarked, "Vladimir Putin has offered to negotiate a peace deal between President Trump and Elon Musk.

A third user stated, “Modi ji should announce a ceasefire between Musk & Trump.”

A fourth user joked, “The bromance is over.” A fifth user quipped, “Me logging on Twitter to see Musk and Trump fighting.”

This comes after Tesla shares hit an all-time high on December 17 in the weeks after Trump was elected. A year before 2024 US election, SpaceX was valued at $210 billion but its shares surged and were estimated at $350 billion during a recent private financing round.