Tesla remains Musk’s best-known business, but its fortunes are less directly tied to the government than SpaceX, his rocket-building company.

The billionaire SpaceX, Tesla and X owner who catapulted his zealous embrace of President Donald Trump into a powerful position slashing government spending now risks sweeping cuts to his own bottom line after resuming the feud that led to their very public bitter split last month.

Trump said "DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon," pointing to the subsidies and contracts Musk's businesses have from the federal government.