Elon Musk in White House 'WWE' style shouting match before stepping back from DOGE

Elon Musk had a heated 'WWE' style clash with the US treasury secretary as the two key figures close to went "chest-to-chest" and had to be split up.

The argument is understood to have started while was discussing the US tax system, the Internal Revenue Service, with Scott Bessent at the White House last Thursday when it got out of control. "It was two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was in the hall of the West Wing," a witness said. Musk, a close ally of Trump and leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has slashed federal spending and made cuts to federal workers, has ruffled feathers with his personality and approach since he began in his role.

Several sources told of the clash which has also been reported by the New York Times where Musk and Bessent went "chest-to-chest". A witness even described Musk's behaviour as "a bit much".

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"Everyone thinks DOGE is great, but Elon's antics are just a bit much," a witness told Axios. "They were not physical in the Oval, but the president saw it, and then they carried it down the hall, and that's when they did it again."

Another source said, "It was quite a scene. It was loud. And I mean, loud." The two have different personalities, and "Scott can't stand Musk," a witness said. "That goes pretty deep and pretty far back. But he's acting like a grown-up about it."

Their feud began on April 16 when Trump supported Musk's choice and named Gary Shapley as the acting commissioner of the IRS, defying Bessent's lobbying choice, Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender.

Disgruntled, Bessent confronted Musk at the Thursday meeting, criticizing him for overpromising with DOGE. Musk then reportedly called Bessent a "Soros agent" and accused him of running "a failed hedge fund," leading to the verbal tussle.

An aide had to allegedly intervene to break up the argument. "Scott won that round," Axios' source said, adding, "But I would not want a guy like Musk as an enemy."

However, the White House Press Secretary seems not to be rattled by it. When asked about the disagreement, Karoline Leavitt said: "It's no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country.

"Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process. And ultimately, everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump."

Previously, Musk has also had altercations with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Trade Adviser Peter Navarro. But Musk has now said he’ll be spending less time in Washington slashing government costs and more time running Tesla after his electric vehicle company reported a big drop in profits.

Musk said on a conference call with analysts on Tuesday that “now that the major work of establishing Department of Government Efficiency is done,” that he will be “allocating far more of my time to Tesla” starting in May. Musk said he now expects to spend just “a day or two per week on government matters”.