Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, made a presence at the White House in recent times, sporting a black eye which he attributed to lighthearted play with his child. Unfolding against the backdrop of a public squabble between Musk and the US President – Donald Trump, the situation has brought forth surprising accusations concerning Musk’s behavior during his White House visit. Stephen K Bannon, a respected conservative podcaster, revealed to The Washington Post that Musk got into an altercation with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent around April, the result of which was the black eye Musk was seen wearing at a media briefing with the President.
The incident is believed to have transpired in mid-April, following the separate arrival of Musk and Bessent at the Oval Office. Both men were there with the aim to champion their candidate of choice to lead the Internal Revenue Service. Bannon reports that President Trump decided to side with the recommendation brought by Bessent. As the two men exited the White House, Musk was confronted by the US Treasury Secretary about his unverified assertion of discovering more than $1 trillion in unnecessary and deceptive government expenditure.
The verbal exchange between Musk and Bessent progressively got out of hand. Allegedly, Bessent exclaimed at Musk, labeling him ‘a fraud’ and a ‘total fraud.’ This led to Musk getting visibly upset. In his anger, Musk reportedly thrust his shoulder forcefully into Bessent’s ribs, Bannon noted.
As detailed by The Washington Post, Musk impacted Bessent’s rib cage, akin to ‘a rugby player.’ This violent escalation in an otherwise professional environment led to several individuals intervening to halt Musk and separating the two men. Consequently, Musk was promptly removed from the West Wing scene.
This news, however, quickly reached the incumbent, President Donald Trump. Upon learning the details of the altercation, the President reportedly commented, ‘This is too much,’ according to Bannon’s account.
Interestingly, in May, when Trump was bidding farewell to Elon Musk from his position as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, social media users took note of the black eye on Musk’s face. Many then speculated that this could plausibly be the aftermath of a physical confrontation.
However, Musk himself dispelled these theories, attributing the bruise to ‘horsing around’ with his 5-year-old son. Despite being wrapped in the midst of such controversies and speculation, his claim made it appear to be an innocuous cause.