Elon Musk’s fall from political grace reached a boiling point in April during a fiery showdown at the White House that reportedly turned physical. Sources close to the Trump administration say the tech mogul and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent nearly came to blows in an altercation that now marks the official collapse of Musk’s once-powerful standing in Washington.
The clash unfolded after a tense Oval Office meeting where President Trump sided with Bessent over Musk’s rival IRS reform proposal. As tempers flared in a hallway outside the West Wing, Bessent allegedly called Musk a “total fraud,” accusing him of failing to deliver on promises to slash $1 trillion in federal spending. Witnesses say Musk didn’t just respond with words—he lowered his shoulder and body-checked Bessent hard, “like a rugby player.” Bessent reportedly struck back before security and staff separated the two men.
The physical confrontation sent shockwaves through the administration. One insider described the moment as “the final straw” in Trump’s increasingly strained relationship with Musk. The president, watching the chaos unfold, reportedly said, “This is too much,” and ordered Musk removed from the building.
The fallout was swift. Musk was later spotted at a send-off event with a visible black eye—though he brushed it off with a joke about roughhousing with his son. Behind the scenes, the White House moved to freeze Musk out of key roles, and President Trump signaled publicly that the era of their partnership was over.
Musk fired back on social media with wild accusations, including claims related to Epstein documents, while Trump threatened to revoke billions in federal contracts linked to Musk’s companies. Former White House strategist Steve Bannon even called for a probe into Musk’s immigration status and green card history.
For months, Musk had wielded real influence within the Trump administration through his role in the DOGE initiative. But insiders say growing disputes over personnel, tariffs, and budget policy had already poisoned the relationship long before fists flew in the West Wing.
Now, with federal investigations looming and his political alliances in tatters, Elon Musk’s White House era appears to be over—and it ended not with a whimper, but with a body-check.