Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the two wealthiest individuals in the world and rivals in the space industry have engaged in a public dispute online.
On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk and Bezos publicly clashed once again.
On his social media platform X, Musk posted, “Just learned tonight at Mar-a-Lago that Jeff Bezos was telling everyone that @realDonaldTrump would lose for sure, so they should sell all their Tesla and SpaceX stock.”
Mar-a-Lago is a resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where President-elect Trump resides. It has been the headquarters of his transition team since the election.
Bezos swiftly refuted Musk’s claim on X, stating, “That’s 100% not true.” Musk responded with a laughing emoji, saying, “Then I must have been mistaken.”
These two wealthiest billionaires have a history of trading barbs on social media. Previously, Musk questioned Amazon’s dominance in the book publishing industry while boasting that he is richer than Bezos. Bezos, in turn, has made pointed remarks about Musk’s plans to colonize Mars.
Beyond their wealth, Musk and Bezos are also competitors in the U.S. private space industry. Bezos founded Blue Origin, the first private space company, in 2000, while Musk established SpaceX in 2002.
As Trump’s second term approaches, Musk became a close ally, contrasting with Bezos’s tense relationship during Trump’s first term. However, Bezos appears to be mending fences. He reportedly directed the Washington Post, which he owns, to remove a column supporting Democratic candidate Kamala Harris during the election. After Trump’s victory, Bezos posted on X about a “special political comeback” and “decisive victory,” signaling efforts to improve relations with the President-elect.
Meanwhile, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of November 19, Musk’s net worth stands at $331 billion, while Bezos’s wealth is estimated at $226 billion.
