Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, predicts he will “go after” tech billionaire Elon Musk’s money now that the Tesla CEO’s time as a special government employee has finished.
“I said from the very start that this bromance was going to come to an end,” Cohen said on MSNBC. “I’m going to go one step even further, again, and I’m going to say Trump will ultimately go after Elon’s money next because it bothers him that he is the richest man in the world.”
“Yes, he used him for his money,” Cohen continued, referring to Trump’s treatment of Musk.
Musk spent at least $250 million to boost Trump’s 2024 campaign and was tapped to spearhead the cost-cutting initiative to eliminate waste and fraud in government through the inaugural Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Cohen — who has turned into one of the most outspoken Trump critics in recent years —predicted Trump will use DOGE “to figure out how Elon, with his companies, took advantage of the United States of America” and try to “claw back” government subsidies for Tesla.
“He’s going to do to Elon Musk, my prediction, what Mohammed bin Salman did to the other members of the royal family,” Cohen added, referring to the Saudi crown prince’s crackdown on so-called corruption in 2017, when he ordered the arrest and detention of dozens of prominent leaders, including family members, government officials and top business leaders, upon being named heir to the throne.
Cohen served time in prison for a series of crimes that he said he committed for Trump. He turned on his former boss, cooperating with investigators and giving testimony before Congress.
Drawing on his own experience, he said everyone in Trump’s inner circle knows that “loyalty with Trump… goes one way,” but they always think they would be different.
He said Musk “100 percent” thinks that he’s different, adding, “and so does [Secretary of Commerce Howard] Lutnick and so does [Treasury Secretary Scott] Bessent, and so does [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio, and so does even [Vice President] JD Vance.”
“They all think that they’re different, that Donald is going to shine the light on them, when push comes to shove,” Cohen said.
White House communications director Steven Cheung brushed off Cohen’s remarks, calling him a “deeply troubled” individual embracing “lies and deception.”
“Michael Cohen is an admitted liar, thief, perjurer and convicted felon. He has zero credibility, and any and all statements made by him about President Trump and others should be disregarded as the rantings of a deeply troubled, jealous, and sad individual who is clearly trying to rehabilitate his image by selling what’s left of his soul through lies and deception,” Cheung said in a statement to The Hill.
