**Trump Threatens to Cut Off Government Ties with Elon Musk’s Businesses**

President Donald Trump has intensified his public dispute with Elon Musk by suggesting that the government could cut off financial support to the tech mogul's companies. In a post on Truth Social, Trump remarked, "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."

Estimates of how much Musk's companies, particularly SpaceX and Tesla, benefit from U.S. government contracts vary widely. The Washington Post estimated that the figure is around $38 billion, with SpaceX alone benefitting from about $22 billion in federal spending, according to its President and COO, Gwynne Shotwell. Reuters has reported that the actual amount is confidential due to the classified nature of many of the contracts.

Tesla has received approximately $11.4 billion in regulatory credits aimed at promoting electric vehicle purchases, though this also includes state-level subsidies. Musk has argued that these credits are no longer necessary for Tesla and primarily benefit the company's competitors.

Following Trump's statement, Tesla's shares, which had already seen an 8% drop on Thursday amid the escalating exchanges, fell by up to 15%. SpaceX, being privately held, did not experience changes in its share value as its stocks are not publicly traded.

The clash between Trump and Musk began publicly on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Trump expressed his disappointment to reporters regarding Musk's criticism of a Republican policy bill progressing through Congress. Musk described the bill as a "disgusting abomination," expressing concern that it would exacerbate the U.S. fiscal deficit.

Musk, who recently stepped down from his White House advisory role to focus on his enterprises, spent much of Thursday attacking Trump, the Republican bill, and other GOP politicians on his social media platform, X.

Any move by Trump to follow through on his threats comes at a critical juncture for Tesla, which has seen a 25% decline in its shares this year, partly due to Musk's involvement with Trump's campaign. Additionally, Trump’s threat revives concerns about potential government investigations into Musk's firms. A report from a Democratic Subcommittee on Investigations in April highlighted that Musk's companies were facing $2.37 billion in possible federal liabilities when Trump took office. Many of these actions have since been paused or dismissed by the Department of Government Efficiency, an agency previously led by Musk.