Trump says Musk will face 'consequences' if he backs Democrats

President Trump says former ally Elon Musk will face “serious consequences” if the billionaire bankrolls Democratic candidates during their feud.

Mr. Trump is signaling he doesn’t want to patch things up with Mr. Musk, who led cost-cutting efforts at Mr. Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency before falling out with the president in recent days.

Mr. Trump on Saturday said Mr. Musk better not fund Democrats who run against Republicans backing the president’s marquee legislation.
“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Mr. Trump told NBC News in a phone interview. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.”

Mr. Trump did not say what he’d do to Mr. Musk, but he’s hinted at trying to withdraw government support for Mr. Musk’s businesses. 
The president’s comments were among the most extensive he’s made about Mr. Musk since the pair went to war this week.

Mr. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is criticizing Mr. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is in the thick of Senate debate, as a monstrosity that will bloat deficits.

Mr. Trump said he has no intention of speaking to Mr. Musk.

“I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful,” Mr. Trump said. “You could not disrespect the office of the president.”

Vice President J.D. Vance was more diplomatic in a separate interview with podcaster Theo Von, saying Mr. Musk made a mistake by going to war with Mr. Trump but he hopes the X owner will come back “in the fold.”

That might not happen.

Mr. Trump told NBC News the relationship is probably over.

“I would assume so, yeah,” he said.

Mr. Musk, meanwhile, has continued to use X to rail against the GOP’s bill as a debt raiser. He’s also floated the idea of a third party to represent Americans who feel the two major parties have failed.