Musk and Bezos publicly spar on social media

Influential billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos had a brief online spat over claims Musk made on X about Bezos urging people to sell Tesla and SpaceX stock, citing Donald Trump would lose the presidential election.

Bezos quickly refuted the claim, calling it “100% not true,” prompting Musk to backtrack with a laughing emoji.

In the past, Musk has mocked Bezos for being less wealthy and critiqued Amazon’s dominance. Bezos has joked about Musk’s Mars colonization ambitions.

Both are involved in NASA’s lunar exploration program. SpaceX’s reusable rockets give Musk an edge, but Bezos’ Blue Origin secured a $3.4 billion NASA contract.

But things are getting serious now. The world’s richest men and longtime rivals are experiencing a reshuffling of influence with Trump returning to the White House.

Musk has emerged as a key ally, donating $200 million to Trump’s campaign and collaborating with him on government initiatives.

Bezos has long been at odds with Trump, facing scrutiny over Amazon’s operations and his newspaper, The Washington Post, which had critical coverage of Trump’s previous presidency.

The rivalry between Musk and Bezos now extends beyond business into politics.