Matt Spivey
Live reporter

Image source, Corina Lacatus

I've spoken to Corina Lacatus, a senior lecturer at Queen Mary University in London, who calls the public fallout between Trump and Musk an "unprecedented spectacle".

Lacatus says: "Trump loves nothing more than a public feud, and in the past he has won them."

What's different this time, she tells me, is that "Trump has met his match, more so than any other public figure that has opposed him before".

"But Trump and Musk need each other - Musk was instrumental in the election for Trump but he also needs government money and contracts."

She adds that in the short term, this argument will fuel criticism of the Trump istration's spending bill. A public feud is a means to obfuscate, she says, but behind the scenes, bills and policies are still being signed.

"Once the fire is put out, Trump ers will have had another public row they can enjoy and will see Trump as the winner."

Image source, Bloomberg/Getty Images

During yesterday’s row, Elon Musk claimed, without evidence, that Trump appears in unreleased government files linked to the late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Today, Democrats have responded and are demanding answers.

Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Acting Ranking Member Stephen Lynch say in a statement they are alarmed by the allegations and are calling for clarification on whether they are true.

“Any attempts to prevent the appropriate release of the Epstein files to shield the president from truth and ability merits intense scrutiny by Congress and by the Department of Justice,” their statement says.

Reacting to Musk’s allegation, the White House has said “this is an unfortunate episode from Elon”.

A source familiar with the situation told the BBC that Musk’s claims are nothing new.

The feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk is still going strong today.

Trump has reportedly said he’s not interested in speaking with Musk right now, so it looks like there’s no resolution in sight.

If you’re just ing us, here’s a quick update:

• The White House has told the BBC the president doesn’t plan to speak to Elon Musk today, despite reports of a possible chat
• Trump is also considering selling his Tesla, according to CBS
• We’ve not yet heard a response from Elon Musk to Trump’s latest comments
• Trump has kept up his criticism of Musk, telling ABC News he’s “the man who has lost his mind” and telling CNN he’s “not even thinking about [him]”
• Other figures have weighed in since last night’s public row, including JD Vance who said he is “proud” to stand beside Trump
• Tesla shares fell by 14% yesterday but have risen about 5% in early trading today

We’ll keep you updated as this row develops.

Natalie Sherman
New York business reporter

Image source, Reuters

Tesla shares were hammered yesterday, falling 14%.

But they’ve recovered a bit this morning, rising roughly 5% in the first minutes of trading, as investors try to gauge what the fight might mean for the electric car-maker.

It is not straightforward.

After all, the dispute could help distance the brand from Trump, allowing it to win back buyers who might have been put off by Musk’s politics.

But it also spells serious trouble for government policies that had ed the company, like the tax incentives offered to buyers of electric cars, which are currently on the chopping block.

It could also expose it to regulatory trouble, should the White House slow-walk issues such as self-driving, which had been a priority for the company.

Tesla shares are known for being volatile. Taking the longer-term view, shares are still up more than 60% over the past 12 months.

Guests on BBC’s Newsnight gave their take last night on the Musk-Trump row.

US journalist Michael Wolff, who predicted the fallout, says the US president is all about “conflict, conflict, conflict”.

“The show goes on and he keeps the show going on,” he says.

Republican pollster Frank Luntz says the row’s escalation was a shock, and thinks both men will regret it because the accusations are so serious.

“They went from zero to 100 in a nanosecond. This is a surprise,” he says.

“This is the boxing global championship, UFC, Super Bowl, World Cup... all rolled into one,” he adds, saying it’s the “last thing” the Trump istration wants.

Journalist Mehdi Hasan also ed the discussion. He says it’ll be interesting to see who actually follows through with their threats.

“I don’t know who to trust here because both have a long track record of lying,” he says.

Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent, reporting from Pennsylvania

We’ve just been talking to Donald Trump voter Jesse Slaton - he’s delivering meals today in Folsom, where Elon Musk held his first solo rally for Trump.

Slaton says his wife, Kimberley, is especially enraged by the row.

“Oh man, she was a big er of Elon! But last night she would not stop talking about this. She was watching it all unfold last night for three hours, but has now deleted her X ", he says.

Asked how much Musk influenced the couple, he says: “Definitely her. I was interested in his sweepstakes for voters. But I never signed up. However my wife is done with him now. She thinks he’s a two-year-old child who doesn’t want to share his toys with anyone else.

“We think he’s ungrateful. Trump took him to the White House, dined with his family at Mar-a-Lago - to be honest she’s very upset at his behaviour," he says.

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump has told the BBC's US partner CBS News he is "totally" focused on policy matters rather than Elon Musk.

"That's all I focus on," Trump says in a phone call with CBS News's Robert Costa. "I don't focus on anything else. That's why I have my highest poll numbers."

"The country is doing great, has never done so well. Jobs numbers are great, everything is good," he says.

Elon Musk - who was quick to respond to Trump's comments last night - is yet to issue a response to the president's latest statements today.

Last night saw a rapid exchange between the two figures on social media. However Musk's social media s remain relatively quiet so far.

Gary O'Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent

There had been reports overnight that efforts were being made to effect some kind of reconciliation between the two men.

But Donald Trump has told a reporter from ABC News that he's not particularly interested in speaking to Elon Musk.

He has also spoken to another news outlet, CNN, saying the "poor guy's got a problem" and he wouldn't be speaking to him for some time.

There had been signs that Musk was having second thoughts about his extended outburst, when he responded to another billionaire who'd called on them to make peace by saying “you're not wrong”.

While these two have fallen out and made up several times in the past ten years, this episode is on a totally different scale and some things have been said that probably can't be unsaid.

Image source, Getty Images

"Trump and Elon are bulls having the final round over who will be boss, but it’ll fizzle out soon," according to Elon Musk's father, Errol.

Speaking to BBC World Service's Newsday before Trump's latest comments were made, Errol describes Elon as a business person with no interest in politics.

However if he did he would "run it like a factory", Errol says, as his current strengths lie in making businesses succeed which is "very different to running a country".

He adds: "Elon is standing on principle and never tells lies. It’s just unfortunate life isn’t always like that but he has to realise compromises are necessary to make any sort of progress.”

Donald Trump has been speaking to various US media outlets today, with several reporting that the US president is not planning to speak to Elon Musk any time soon.

“I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem,” Trump tells CNN.

As we reported earlier, Trump described Musk to ABC News as “the man who has lost his mind".

The president has also been active on his social media platform Truth Social today, but hasn't mentioned Musk yet.

We're also yet to hear from the tech billionaire today, but are watching his own platform X for updates.

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump is considering selling his Tesla, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports, citing a senior White House official.

The red car, which he purchased when he was trying to help Elon Musk promote his company, has been parked for weeks at the White House, it reports.

Gary O'Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent

We've just heard in the last hour that Trump has spoken to a correspondent for ABC News here, where he described Musk as “the man who has lost his mind.”

That comes off the back of yesterday's huge spat, with Musk tweeting: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the White House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate. Such ingratitude."

Trump responded saying the easiest way to save the money in the budget is to "terminate Elon's subsidies and contracts" – which include Space X and Tesla.

A lot has been said in the last 12 to 18 hours that can't be unsaid, and I'd be very surprised if these two are friends any time soon.

Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent

There have been reports that there were going to be attempts to broker a truce between Musk and Trump today by White House aides.

However the White House has told the BBC that the president does not intend to speak to Musk today.

Tom Singleton
Technology reporter

Elon Musk's spectacular falling out with Donald Trump is probably the most talked-about row on the planet.

But it's far from the first time the world's richest man has waded into an argument.

The people he's found himself in hot disagreement with range from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer - over grooming gangs - to the diver Vern Unsworth - over a cave rescue in Thailand.

He's attacked rivals in the tech world, such as OpenAI boss, Sam Altman. He's insulted politicians, including his nominal ally, the Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro, who he described as "dumber than a sack of bricks.”

A common feature of these beefs is that they play out online. In pursuing them Musk is of course helped - if that's the right word - by owning his own social media platform, X.

So far then, so familiar.

But what's new about this row is Musk has never tangled with someone quite as powerful - or quite as willing to hurl his own insults - as Donald Trump. He is of course someone who also has his own social media megaphone, in the form of Truth Social.

We are all waiting to see what means for how this particular argument plays out.

Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent, reporting from Pennsylvania

Image source, Getty Images

Our team is reporting from Pennsylvania today to consider a big question - did Elon Musk win the election for President Trump?

It’s the accusation that’s very likely to cut deeply for Trump who has always believed his astonishing political success is down to him and only him.

It was here where Elon Musk went all in for Trump after the assassination attempt in Butler back in July. He then appeared on stage with Trump for the first time, where he took a leap of faith for the president.

Musk set up a war room of sorts in the city of Pittsburgh. He held a door knocking campaign, attended town halls, put on a solo rally and controversially organised a million dollar sweepstakes for battleground voters.

Let’s not forget his social media megaphone either on X.

When Trump beat Kamala Harris securing Pennsylvania’s crucial 19 electoral votes, plenty of headlines gave Musk the credit.

Donald Trump has told US media outlet ABC News that he is "not particularly" interested in speaking to Elon Musk yet, following reports the pair would hold a phone call later.

In a phone interview with the US news outlet, external just over an hour ago, Trump described Musk as "the man who has lost his mind" after the president and tech billionaire's fiery public row on Thursday.

We've ed the White House for further details, and we'll bring you more information as get it.

We've been reporting this morning that US President Donald Trump's aides had scheduled a phone call with Elon Musk for later today, citing a report from Politico that was published overnight.

Moments ago, however, the Reuters news agency reports that there are no plans for a call between the two to take place today, citing a White House source with knowledge of the matter.

We've reached out to the White House to find out whether a call will take place, and will bring you updates as soon as we get them.

Theo Leggett
International business correspondent

Tesla’s shares fell 14% yesterday, as the rift between Elon Musk and President Trump became all too public.

On paper, it wiped $150bn (£110.7bn) from the value of the company.

But let’s put this in context. Tesla’s share price is now roughly back where it was a month ago – before Musk's announced plans to leave his White House job and focus on the business.

It is down 25% since the start of the year, but up 60% over the past 12 months.

After the US election last year, Tesla’s stock soared, as investors gambled that Musk’s close relationship with the president would benefit the company.

Those short-term gains have nearly all now been lost. But Tesla’s valuation remains extremely high in relation to its earnings.

That’s because shareholders are still betting Musk’s plans for self-driving taxis and humanoid robots will be big winners.