 "Tesla CEO Elon Musk was spotted with a black eye. AP")
As tech billionaire Elon Musk’s public feud with US President Donald Trump intensifies , shocking details have emerged detailing the Tesla boss’s alleged physical altercation with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in April.
Influential right-wing podcaster Stephen K Bannon claimed while speaking to The Washington Post that Musk rammed his shoulder into the secretary’s rib cage over some disagreements.
Both Musk and Bessent were making their cases for the appointment of acting IRS commissioner. Bannon claimed Trump ultimately sided with Bessent’s recommendation.
As it happened
According to the podcaster, as both men walked out of the White House, Bessent enquired Musk about his unfulfilled claims of uncovering more than $1 trillion in wasteful and fraudulent government spending.
Bessent then allegedly shouted at Musk: “You’re a fraud. You’re a total fraud.”
Visibly angry Musk then rammed his shoulder into Bessent’s ribcage, the podcaster said.
Multiple people then jumped in to break up the fight as Musk was then taken out of the West Wing.
“President Trump heard about it and said, ‘This is too much,’” Bannon said.
This isn’t the first time Bannon has discussed the conflict. Last month, he told the Daily Mail that the dispute started when Bessent challenged Musk’s failure to follow through on promised major federal spending cuts linked to DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency).
“Scott Bessent called him out and said, ‘You promised us a trillion dollars (in cuts), and now you’re at like $100 billion, and nobody can find anything, what are you doing?’” Bannon told Daily Mail. “And that’s when Elon got physical. It’s a sore subject with him.”
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“It wasn’t an argument, it was a physical confrontation. Elon basically shoved him,” Bannon added.
Talk about the incident grew after Musk appeared with Trump at a May 30 Oval Office press conference to announce his exit from DOGE.
Social media users spotted what seemed to be a black eye on Musk, fueling rumours of a physical fight with Bessent. Neither Musk nor Bessent has publicly addressed the incident.