President Donald Trump has dramatically escalated his war of words with Elon Musk, warning that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could be used to investigate the Tesla CEO’s reliance on government subsidies — and even suggesting the billionaire could face deportation.

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Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday morning, Trump referred to DOGE – the aggressive cost-cutting programme spearheaded by Musk at the start the of the president’s term – as “the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.”

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Asked whether he was considering deporting Musk to his native South Africa, Trump replied: “I don’t know, we’ll have to take a look.”

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The sharp comments come amid a renewed clash between the two men, once close political allies. Musk has spent the last several days publicly criticising Trump’s flagship domestic proposal, the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, and has threatened to fund a new political party if it passes through Congress.

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Trump hit back in a late-night Truth Social post on Monday, accusing Musk of being the largest recipient of government subsidies “in history” and suggesting DOGE should review all support Tesla, SpaceX and X receive from the federal government.

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“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far,” Trump wrote. “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard look at this?”

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The president’s remarks appear to have been prompted by a Monday post from Musk labelling the Republican Party the “PORKY PIG PARTY” and floating the idea of launching a third party “that actually cares about the people.”

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Their latest confrontation follows a brief truce after a similar spat last month. Musk, who had previously promised to contribute an additional $100 million to Trump’s campaign ahead of the midterms, has been increasingly vocal in his opposition to the pending bill, citing concerns over the federal deficit.

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Trump, however, maintains that Musk’s objections are tied to the legislation’s planned rollback of electric vehicle subsidies — a measure that could significantly impact Tesla’s business model.

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“Elon can lose a lot more than that, I can tell you right now,” Trump warned on Tuesday.

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The growing rift highlights the increasingly volatile relationship between Trump and one of his most prominent financial backers, just as the president seeks to consolidate support ahead of the November elections.

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