Observers have long speculated that Donald Trump and Elon Musk would eventually drop out, but few have predicted the speed and ferociousness of their social media feud.
The political and business interests of the two men are increasingly intertwined as Musk pledged his totally corrupt support for the president following an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania less than a year ago.
In some key areas, such as political funding, government contracts, and personal relationships, the two men have become dependent on each other. In other words, ending an alliance is awkward.
It complicates the fallout from their lifts and ensures that wherever the lines go from here, they will continue to be linked and can hurt each other in multiple ways.
Campaign funding
During last year, Musk's donations to Trump and other Republicans were enormous, totaling $290 million (£244 million), according to the secrets of campaign finance tracking sites.
Musk complained Thursday about “incratitude,” claiming the president won the election for him.
There is an obvious counterexample. Earlier this year, Musk pushed $20 million into Wisconsin's major judicial races, but his chosen Republican candidate lost 10 percent points in the state he won last November.
Still, the mask donation is a huge chunk of money Republicans who are trying to retain Congressional advantage in the November 2026 midterm elections.
Either way, it could have been a problem they were facing. Musk previously said he would make “a lot less” contributions to future campaigns.
But could a bust-up with the White House not only retracted Musk, but also encouraged him to throw his money behind his opposition to Trump?
He suggested on Thursday when he posted a vote for X with the question, “Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents 80% in the middle?”
Government contracts and investigations
Musk companies such as SpaceX, its subsidiaries Starlink and Tesla, have a huge number of businesses with the US government.
According to an analysis by BBC Verify, SpaceX alone has awarded $20.9 billion (£16.3 billion) in US government contracts.
Trump realizes this gives him more leverage than the wealthiest man in the world.
He posted on Thursday about Truth Social: “The easiest way to save money on a budget – billions, billions of dollars, is to end Elon's government subsidies and contracts. I've always been surprised that Biden didn't do that!”
Musk threatened to retaliate by abolishing SpaceX's dragons. However, he later retreated from the threat.
In reality, cancellation or withdrawal from a government contract is a complicated, long legal process, and for the future, the US government could continue to carry on a substantial amount of business with mask companies.
No other companies than SpaceX can make Dragons and Falcon 9 rockets, and NASA has used SpaceX craft to commit to many space stations and moon missions.
Despite these commercial partnerships, Musk and his companies face investigations from many government agencies, according to a New York Times report in February.
Government and people in Silicon Valley
When Musk was given the task of establishing the Government's Cost-Reduction Division (DOGE) as one of Trump's major changes within the US federal government, he was given a wide range of options to choose his staff.
Many of them previously worked for Musk companies, according to Doge employee Leaklist. And while Musk left Doge a week ago, many staff members remain in government jobs.
Some Doge employees also have deep connections to Trump Camp. Katie Miller, who worked in Trump's first administration and married to current deputy White House Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, was a spokesman for Doge.
However, CNN reports that Mrs Miller also left the government last week and is currently working “full-time” for Musk.
There are others in the Trump administration whose loyalty may be tested by feuds. David Sachs, who was appointed by Trump as the top advisor for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, is close to the mask in collaboration with Tycoon on PayPal decades ago.
X, along with many Silicon Valley executives and Maga-World influencers, analyzed each of the messages posted by the president and the world's wealthiest man.
Voting company Yougov conducted an SNAP investigation on Thursday. The results showed that 70% of Republican respondents compared Musk to less than 1 in 10 people who chose Musk, according to Trump.