• Elon Musk and Donald Trump's friendship unraveled publicly over a tax bill dispute.
• Musk criticized Trump's tax bill, calling it the 'Big Ugly Spending Bill.'
• Here's how their recently fragile friendship fractured on Thursday, minute-by-minute.

Twenty-five minutes of live TV, more than a dozen posts on X, and three posts on Truth Social over the period of five hours (and counting) — that's how the already fractured friendship of Elon Musk and President Donald Trump publicly unraveled on Thursday.

The first signs of trouble began when Musk showed opposition to Trump's spending bill, the "One Big Beautiful Bill," though he never explicitly targeted Trump.

"Shame on those who voted for it," Musk tweeted on Tuesday, referring to Congress members who voted for Trump's tax cut bill.

Trump, for his part, had stayed uncharacteristically mum about Musk's criticism of the bill.

But that all changed on Thursday morning.

Here is a minute-by-minute breakdown of how the relationship between two of the most powerful men on the planet devolved.

11:20 a.m. ET

Musk began digging up Trump's old posts on what was then Twitter about the deficit, including one from January of 2013.

11:46 a.m. ET

Musk unearthed another old X post by Trump from back in July 2012, presumably as a swipe at the new Republican tax bill that many economists and the congressional Budget Office said would increase the country's deficits.

12 p.m. ET

Trump responded to Musk's attacks for the first time when answering press questions during a White House event to welcome German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"And you know Elon's upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles," said Trump. "And they're having a hard time, the electric vehicles. And they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy. Elon knew this from the beginning; he knew it from a long time ago."

12:07 p.m. ET

Trump's comments about Musk continued at the press appearance.

"He knew every aspect of this bill — better than almost anybody —and he never had a problem until right after he left," said Trump. "He said the most beautiful things about me. He hasn't said bad things about me personally, but I'm sure that'll be next. But I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot."

"People leave my administration, and they love us, and then at some point they miss it so badly, and some of them embrace it, and some of them actually become hostile," Trump continued.

"I don't know what it is. It's sort of Trump derangement syndrome, I guess they call it, but we have it with others, too. They leave and they wake up in the morning, and the glamour's gone. The whole world is different, and they become hostile," he added.

12:25 p.m. ET

Musk began a whirlwind of tweets soon after, responding in near real time to what Trump said during the press appearance.

"False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!" Musk posed on X.

12:46 p.m. ET

Musk then began a series of tweets directed at the president beyond the bill, including saying that without him, Republicans would have lost.

1:57 p.m. ET

Musk polls his X followers about creating a new political party "that actually represents the 80% in the middle." Mark Cuban quoted the post with three checkmarks.

2:23 p.m. ET

Musk gives Trump's bill — known on paper as the "One Big Beautiful Bill" — a new name: "Big Ugly Spending Bill."

2:37 p.m. ET

Trump responds to Musk with two consecutive posts on his own social media platform, Truth Social.

"Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!" 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. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!" the president continued.

2:48 p.m. ET

Musk responds to Trump's posts on Truth Social, calling them "such an obvious lie."

2:49 p.m. ET

A minute later, Musk appeared to dare Trump to cancel government contracts with his companies.

3:10 p.m. ET

Musk makes another accusation.

4:06 p.m. ET

Trump posts on Truth Social again to defend his tax bill.

"I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress," Trump wrote.

"It's a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn't pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn't create this mess, I'm just here to FIX IT," Trump added.

4:09 p.m. ET

Musk says SpaceX will decommission its Dragon spacecraft "immediately."

SpaceX's Dragon spaceships transport NASA astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station. Prior to partnering with SpaceX, the agency depended on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for crewed missions.

4:26 p.m. ET

Musk says that Trump's tariffs will "cause a recession in the second half of this year."

Some economists have also predicted that Trump's tariffs would hurt the economy, and Trump himself declined to rule out the chances of a recession back in March.

JPMorgan had predicted a 60% chance of a US recession after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on April 2. The bank adjusted the possibility down to below 50% recently after Trump paused most of his highest tariffs.

4:43 p.m. ET

Musk retweeted what appears to be a video of Trump partying with Epstein from the 1990s, doubling down on his earlier statement about the Epstein files.

"This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Business Insider in a statement. "The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again."

Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

Hulu went out of their way to transform Tell Me Lies‘ Grace Van Patten into Amanda Knox — but how does the show compare to Meredith Kercher‘s actual murder trial?

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, which premieres on August 20, is a limited series inspired by the story of how Knox “was wrongfully convicted for the tragic murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, and her 16-year odyssey to set herself free.” In addition to Patten, the show also stars Sharon Horgan, John Hoogenakker, Francesco Acquaroli, Giuseppe De Domenico and Roberta Mattei.

Knox made headlines in 2007 when she was accused of murdering her roommate Kercher while they were studying abroad in Perugia, Italy. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison after she and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were both convicted of the crime despite a lack of evidence.

An appellate court later found the former couple not guilty in 2011, but they were again found guilty three years later during a retrial. The Italian supreme court cleared Knox of Kercher’s murder in 2015 and she was exonerated.

Ivorian migrant Rudy Guede was sentenced in 2008 to 30 years in prison for Kercher’s murder after his DNA was identified at the crime scene. His sentence was later reduced, and he was released from prison in November 2021.

Before The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox premiered, Knox spoke exclusively to Us Weekly about her “gratitude” for the chance to tell her story.

“It really comes down to this idea of do I have a voice and does my voice matter in how a story is told? That is what Hulu has recognized, and they’re taking a chance on that to say, ‘Yes, actually the subject does have a perspective that is valuable and that matters,’” she noted in March 2025. “And we don’t have to pretend that this world is full of objective screenwriters who are not bringing their own stuff to the project. I think that that’s a really interesting experiment that is being made right now.”

She continued: “And of course, I’m really honored to work alongside Monica [Lewinsky], who is my mentor. She’s executive producing as well. I can’t speak a lot about it yet because we’re still in production. But I’ll just say that it is another manifestation of me having the opportunity to be recognized as someone who has a valuable perspective.”

Keep scrolling to see how the series compares to the real-life case:

Bindi Irwin had the most classic big sister reaction to brother Robert Irwin’s viral thirst traps.

“I will say there are some things as his sister that I can’t unsee,” the conservationist, 26, said while laughing during the Thursday, June 5, episode of Kylie Kelce’s “Not Gonna Lie” podcast. “When he did the Dancing [With the Stars] announcement, he was shirtless, and he recently did his Bonds commercial where he was in his underwear.”

She continued: “It is rough, I really want to be supportive. I really am so proud of him. He’s taking the message of conservation to new heights.”

Kelce, 33, added that when Robert, 21, was going viral on social media, she noticed there were varying reactions to him from different age demographics.

Robert Irwin Reveals What His Family Thought of His Sexy Bonds Ad

“The best part about it is that my algorithm showed me someone saying, ‘How disappointed he must be that there’s a group of people in the comments being like, oh my gosh I loved your dad,’” she recalled. “And that’s not the point.”

Bindi jokingly quipped, “That’s not the place!”

Kelce applauded Robert for using his online momentum to spotlight his family’s conservation efforts. Bindi agreed and shared that she spends more time on the side of the internet where he is “steering in the other direction” toward their nonprofit.

“It’s so cool watching him take the message, cause we have a charity called Wildlife Warriors,” she said. “Watching him grab people’s attention in a big way and then pivot and say ‘Here’s what we do, here’s our work, here’s our dedication to wildlife and conservation and you can get involved.’ It is wonderful and extraordinary to watch him shine.”

Bindi went on to say that she has a “mother hen” mentality when it comes to her brother.

“I’m trying to protect him, make sure he’s OK, and I’ve been that way his whole life,” she explained. “Now [I’m] just watching him shine and flourish and find his own path and voice. It is inspiring.”

Bindi admitted that she does get “a little bit scared” by the “intense” attention he gets from some supporters.

“It can be a lot. But he’s doing really well with all of it and I am very proud of him,” she said.

Bindi Irwin Thinks Robert Will Break the Internet on 'DWTS' Every Week

Robert has taken the internet by storm thanks to his modeling gig with Bonds underwear earlier this year. In April, it was revealed that he would be joining the cast of DWTS for season 34. During the official announcement, Robert walked out shirtless and holding a snake.

Last month, Robert exclusively opened up to Us Weekly about how he was faring with his newfound popularity online and revealed his DMs have turned into a “scary place.”

“I’ve been kinda sorta avoiding the direct message section for a little bit,” he explained. “The last couple months have been very eye-opening, that’s for sure. And I really thought in modeling Bonds underwear or doing Dancing With the Stars, that sort of thing, I could bring in a whole new audience to listen to my conservation message.”

Both the U.K. and U.S. Love Island shows have had their fair share of controversies over the years.

On Love Island U.K. season 2 in 2016, Malia Arkian became the first contestant to ever be thrown out of the villa for getting in a physical altercation with castmate Kady McDermott.

“Security removed me after an altercation with Kady. I met with the producers, where we watched the footage back and there was a report conducted,” Arkian told Closer in a June 2024 interview. “I then went to a hotel with my chaperone, where I stayed for 24 hours, with no contact with anyone. I was distraught and devastated. I was terrified about what people would be thinking.”

Eventually, ITV told her she “wouldn’t be let back” and Arkian was sent back to the U.K.

Most Dramatic Casa Amor Moments From 'Love Island UK' and 'Love Island USA'

“I was trolled relentlessly, and people threw drinks at me on nights out,” she shared with the outlet. “After one hour of being on TV, I got a reputation as an aggressive and violent person — which just isn’t me at all. I was depressed and didn’t want to leave the house.”

Nearly a decade later, Love Island USA season 7 contestant Yulissa Escobar was forced to leave the show after podcast clips of her using racial slurs circulated online.

Keep scrolling to learn more about more controversial moments throughout Love Island history:

U.K. Season 2: Zara Holland Stripped of Miss GB Title

Holland was stripped of her Miss Great Britain title after having sex with castmate Alex Bowen.

“We pride ourselves on promoting the positivity of pageants in modern society and this includes the promotion of a strong, positive female role model in our winners,” Miss Great Britain organizers shared in a statement to the Guardian in June 2016. “The feedback we have received from pageant insiders and members of the general public is such that we cannot promote Zara as a positive role model moving forward. We wholly understand that everyone makes mistakes, but Zara, as an ambassador for Miss Great Britain, simply did not uphold the responsibility expected of the title.”

The organization later clarified their decision on X, noting that they have “no problem at all with sex,” but “can’t condone what happened on national TV.”

‘Love Island U.K.’ Couples: Where Are They Now?

Holland, for her part, did not agree with the decision and defended herself, saying she did “nothing wrong.”

“All women have needs,” she told The Sun in June 2016. “There is nothing wrong with having sex on TV. I knew what I was signing up for — it is Love Island. I am a 20-year-old girl who was in the moment. There are lots of girls my age who go out every week and do that — mine was just on national TV. I didn’t feel pressured in any way, I am standing up to it. I haven’t committed a crime, so why should I have my title taken from me? It’s horrific.”

U.K. Season 2: Malia Arkian Forced to Leave After Altercation

Arkian had to leave the show in 2016 following a fight with McDermott. The former contestant later told Closer in June 2024 that she was “trolled relentlessly” when she got back home.

U.K. Season 4: Zara McDermott’s Personal Images Were Leaked

While in the villa in 2018, McDermott’s nude photos of her had leaked online and gone viral. She did not find out about the photos until she left the show. (McDermott has previously experienced revenge porn when she was 14 while being badly bullied at school.)

“I’d just gone through the biggest experience of my life. I just wanted to be able to live in the moment and enjoy my new life for a little bit and instead being reminded of actually how awful the world can be sometimes,” she shared in a February 2021 interview with Grazia Daily. “Not only did I have to deal with coming out — I can’t even explain how you have to get used to the trolling and online hate and abuse — that’s one huge thing that you need to get used to.”

McDermott said the online hate “coupled up with the revenge porn” could “break a person.”

‘Love Island USA’ Status Check: Which Couples Are Still Together?

“It really can,” she added.

U.K. Season 5: Sherif Lanre Sent Home After Kicking Girl in Crotch and Making Insensitive Joke

In 2019, Lanre was sent home after accidentally kicking Molly-Mae Hauge in her crotch during a play fight and making an insensitive joke about it after. Following his exit, ITV issued a statement on behalf of Lanre.

“In a case of poor judgement, I broke the villa rules and as a result agreed with the producers that it was best for me to leave the villa,” the message read.

U.K. Season 6: Ollie Williams Accused of Being a ‘Trophy Hunter’

While on season 6 of the show in 2020, photographs obtained by The Sun began circling online, showing Williams posing with dead animals. The pictures caused people to create a petition to remove him from the series. Although he ended up quitting the show, claiming he had feelings for an ex, many viewers thought his departure was because of the online complaints.

“Having left the Love Island house, I have become aware of the press stories circulating in the UK,” Williams shared with The Mirror following his departure. “I would like to make a number of comments on the various claims and accusations. I did not shoot any of the animals shown in the photographs nor have I ever shot as a trophy hunter.”

Williams noted that he volunteered for a conservation program in Mozambique and had “no knowledge of the stories” until he left the show.

'Love Island U.K.’ All Stars' Most Memorable Moments From Their Seasons

“My reasons for leaving Love Island are as communicated on the show,” he added.

U.K. Season 7: Faye Winter Has Meltdown at Teddy Soares

During a 2021 episode, Winter lost her temper at fellow contestant Soares after footage was released of him admitting he was attracted to Clarisse Juliette. Winter was very hurt and started screaming at Teddy, resulting in the most expletive-filled rant the show had ever seen, according to viewers.

“I came out at the time and I had no idea that obviously it had blown up to the point it had. I was really embarrassed — and still to this day, ‘Why didn’t you let people know you really hurt Faye?’” she shared on Paul C. Brunson’s “We Need to Talk” podcast in March 2025. “I’ve never given anyone a reason for why it happened and I didn’t want people to think that I was copping out. I’m going to own it, and if that’s the end of my career in TV, that’s fine.”

U.S. Season 2: Johnny Middlebrooks Made Out With Mercades Schell While Coupled Up With Another Girl

Middlebrooks caused some controversy after he kissed Schell multiple times despite being in a relationship with Cely Vazquez.

Following Schell’s elimination, she told Entertainment Tonight in a September 2020 interview that Middlebrooks is “super fake.”

“He’s only in it for the game. He’s super fake. I will be expecting him in my DMs,” she shared with the outlet.

The Villa’s Rules! Every Guideline ‘Love Island’ Contestants Must Follow

Middlebrooks and Vazquez ended up staying together for the duration of the show until they eventually split in June 2022.

Former Contestants Call Out Lack of Body Diversity

Prior to a new season of Love Island UK, some cast members called out the show’s lack of body diversity.

Malin Andersson, who starred on season 2, took to social media to share a throwback photo of her from the show in a gold swimsuit, noting that the pressure to “look” the same way as “everyone else does” is never healthy.

“As Love Island approachers our screens tonight (with lack of diversity might I add once again) — I invite you to take a deep breath and [think about] what the show actually entails,” Andersson wrote via Instagram in June 2021. “[There’s] pressure to look and feel the same way everyone else does. When I say this, I speak from a place of insecurity [that] I once had and pain.”

Despite comments from some cast members, ITV told Cosmopolitan in June 2021 that they “celebrate diversity of every sort across our range of programmes in our schedule and across our channels.”

“In terms of casting for Love Island, the only stipulation to applicants is they must be over 18, single and looking for love,” the statement read. “This year’s Love Islanders come from a diverse range of backgrounds with a mix of personalities and have a healthy BMI.”

How Do 'Love Island' Winners Spend Their Prize Money? Us Investigates

U.S. Season 7: Yulissa Escobar Removed After Racist Comments Resurface

Escobar stirred controversy when she was added to the cast after TMZ posted footage of her using the n-word several times during podcast appearances.

While several fans left messages on Escobar’s Instagram asking to vote her off the island, she ended up leaving the show during a June 2025 episode. Nearly 20 minutes in to the Peacock series, narrator Iain Stirling announced that Escobar left the villa.

President Donald Trump and billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s feud exploded on social media, and one potential 2028 presidential contender added his two cents into the mix.

ESPN star Stephen A. Smith fired off a post on X in the midst of the president and Musk’s extremely public break-up in front of millions of social media users. Musk asked his X user base whether it was time to "create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

The "First Take" pundit fired off another take, expressing interest in what Musk asked.

"Mr. @elonmusk I’m all for moving America to the CENTER. I’m definitely down for that cause! Sign me up!!!" he wrote.

Smith has expressed his dissatisfaction with both sides of the political aisle, criticizing how Democrats handled governing the country over the last four years, particularly with open borders, high spending, identity politics and cancel culture. He’s also had his criticisms of Trump, pointing to the administration’s dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

He’s also maintained that he may have "no choice" but to consider a presidential run.

MUSK UNLEASHES WILD EPSTEIN CLAIM AGAINST TRUMP AFTER BEING BOOTED FROM DOGE

As Smith has toyed with a presidential run, Trump and Musk have gone toe-to-toe after months of cozying up with one another. The main issue appeared to be opposite ideas about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was drafted and for which Trump has expressed support.

Musk then made a jab over Trump’s former relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The White House said earlier on Thursday that a source familiar with the Epstein matter said it is widely known that Trump kicked Epstein out of his Palm Beach Golf Club. The source also pointed out that the administration released the Epstein files, which included Trump’s name, and nothing was new about Musk’s revelation.

Shortly after Musk posted about Trump being in the Epstein file, Trump posted his response to Truth Social.

"I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress," Trump said, turning his attention to the "big, beautiful bill" that is before the Senate. "It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that."

"I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" the president added.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.