Musk and Trump, ostensibly political allies over cuts to federal spending, publicly clashed on June 5 in a series of exchanges across social media and in comments to reporters. The origin of the dispute is the impact Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill has on U.S. public debt.

If Musk ever did expatriate to Russia for asylum, he could find himself in even more danger, as critics of Putin often end up dead or imprisoned.

As Trump and Musk clash publicly, Kremlin officials mock the feud, offer Musk asylum, and float a 'peace deal'