In an interview with Politico, neuroscientist Philip Low posited that billionaire Elon Musk is “going to do everything to damage” President Donald Trump after their very public feud rekindled with Musk’s criticism of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
Low, who founded a Silicon Valley startup, described Musk as “obsessive,” power-driven, and fixated on eclipsing rivals—traits that, in Low’s view, haven’t changed in the 14 years he’s known him. Their relationship soured in 2021 when Low removed Musk from the company’s advisory board, a move he said Musk never fully forgave.
Low said their bond was “permanently altered” and fully ruptured this past January after Low joined others in accusing Musk online of making Nazi salutes at Trump’s inaugural rally— accusations Musk dismissed.
He said:
“I’ve had my share of blowouts with Elon over the years. Knowing Elon the way I know him, I do think he’s going to do everything to damage the president.”
Low spoke after Musk once again criticized Trump’s controversial spending bill and said he will work to unseat any Republicans who’ve supported “the biggest debt increase in history” by giving the greenlight to a package that would add roughly $3.3 trillion to the national deficit.
Trump later responded that his administration might “take a look” at deporting Musk—who has been a U.S. citizen since 2002—and once again suggested he would suspend Musk’s government contracts. Musk issued a veiled threat that he might “escalate” the matter, suggesting he has significant dirt on the president.
Tensions between the two men have flared for weeks since Musk alleged Trump’s name appeared in the so-called Epstein files—documents related to the late financier, pedophile, and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein rumored to contain the names of Epstein’s most high-profile enablers.
Low said Trump “tends to make up with his former sparring partners like [Steve] Bannon a bit more easily than Elon does,” noting the following about Musk’s temperament:
“He has been humiliated. The whole idea that Elon is going to be on his side and help woo Congress and invest in election campaigns for right-wing judges—Elon might do all of that, but deep down, it’s over.”
“A lot of people close to him will say that he changed. I don’t believe that to be true. I’ve seen this side of Elon over the years, but I just think that over time, he got cozy with the idea of showing more of that, and now it seems to have affected him.”
Though opinions were mixed, people saw exactly what Low was putting down
Low added that Musk’s fixation on dominance places him “in a league of his own” in Silicon Valley—where he’s repeatedly clashed with fellow founders, from Peter Thiel at PayPal to Martin Eberhard at Tesla to Sam Altman at OpenAI.
He cautioned that “Elon has wooed enough of Trump’s supporters to be an actual threat politically.”
