This week, Trump has said Musk would have to "close up shop and head back home to South Africa" if he halted government subsidies to his companies, and then later added that his administration would "have to take a look" at deporting Musk.

And Musk seemingly can’t let that go. “Physics sees through all lies perfectly,” Musk posted this week on his social-media platform X. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s political power in Washington—which just a few months ago seemed limitless —was always about proximity to the president.