Trump and Musk joust in astonishing social media duel | First Thing

<p>The world’s richest man called for the US president’s impeachment, and in return Trump threatened to scrap subsidies for Musk’s companies. Plus, a university paid private investigators to snoop on campus activists</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/info/2018/sep/17/guardian-us-morning-briefing-sign-up-to-stay-informed"><strong>Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here</strong></a></p></li></ul><p>Good morning.</p><p>Elon Musk has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/05/trump-elon-musk-fallout">called for Donald Trump’s impeachment</a> and in effect claimed the president was part of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged child sexual abuse ring in an extraordinary social media blow-up between the former allies on Thursday.</p><p><strong>What is the origin of the feud?</strong> Tensions have been mounting for weeks over a Republican spending bill that Musk has criticised.</p><p><strong>How is it affecting Musk’s bottom line?</strong> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/05/tesla-share-drop-trump-musk-feud">Tesla’s shares plunged by about 14.2%</a><strong> </strong>on Thursday at market close after the pair traded barbs.</p><p><strong>Why were these judges targeted?</strong> Two of the judges authorized the arrest warrants against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former defense minister Yoav Gallant, while the other two authorized an ICC investigation into abuses by US personnel in Afghanistan.</p><p><strong>Has the US targeted others before?</strong> Yes – it passed sanctions on the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, after he pursued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. As a result, Khan has lost access to his email and had his bank accounts frozen, the Associated Press reported.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/first-thing-trump-musk-joust-astonishing-social-media-duel">Continue reading...</a>