June 5, 2025. It’s a date that’s going to be in the history books, but probably for all the wrong reasons. If you were online that Thursday, you saw the "bromance" of the century—the alliance between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk—go up in literal digital smoke.
It wasn't just a tiff. It was a $150 billion meltdown.
While most of the US news June 5 2025 headlines focused on a massive new travel ban, the real story was the sound of bridges burning between the White House and the world's richest man. Honestly, it felt like watching a high-stakes soap opera play out on X and Truth Social in real-time. By the end of the day, Musk was polling his followers about starting a third party, and Tesla’s stock was in a freefall so steep it made 2021 look like a minor dip.
The "One Big Beautiful Bill" That Broke the Alliance
What actually triggered it? It wasn’t some deep philosophical disagreement about the future of humanity. It was a piece of legislation officially called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB).
Musk had been sniping at the bill for days, calling it a "pork-filled abomination." But things got personal on June 5. During a 40-minute live-streamed meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump didn't hold back. He told reporters he was "disappointed" in Elon, basically suggesting the tech mogul only cared because the bill slashed electric vehicle (EV) subsidies.
Trump even dropped the hammer: he said he would have won Pennsylvania without Musk’s help anyway. Ouch.
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Musk didn't take that lying down. Within minutes, he fired back, claiming Trump would have lost the election if he hadn't stepped in. Then he went for the jugular, suggesting the administration was hiding Epstein-related records because Trump’s own name was in them. He even re-shared old posts from a decade ago where Trump criticized Republicans for the very same deficit spending he was now presiding over.
Market Chaos: The $34 Billion Afternoon
If you owned Tesla stock that day, you probably wanted to look away. Shares plummeted 14%, and at one point, trading volumes for Tesla put options hit over four million contracts—a record.
- Tesla’s Market Cap: Dropped below the $1 trillion mark, ending at roughly $913 billion.
- Musk’s Personal Loss: An estimated $34 billion in a single day.
- Broader Markets: The Dow and S&P 500 both slipped as investors realized the "DOGE" (Department of Government Efficiency) era was effectively over before it even started.
It wasn't just Tesla. Trump Media & Technology Group shares also took an 8% hit. It turns out that when the two most influential voices on the right start a circular firing squad, everyone loses money.
The Return of the Travel Ban
While the billionaire feud was the loudest part of the US news June 5 2025 cycle, the most significant policy move was the signing of a massive new executive order.
Citing a terror attack that had recently occurred in Boulder, Colorado, Trump announced a strict travel ban on 12 countries. The list included Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea.
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There were partial restrictions on seven other nations too.
The backlash was instant. Critics called it "Muslim Ban 2.0," while the State Department, led by Secretary Marco Rubio, defended it as a necessary security measure for vetting. Chad didn't wait around to negotiate; they suspended visa issuance for US citizens almost immediately in retaliation.
What Most People Missed: The Social Security Milestone
Amidst the noise of travel bans and billionaire bickering, something actually happened that affected millions of regular people. The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced it had finished processing 2.5 million retroactive payments.
This was part of the Social Security Fairness Act, which Biden had signed back in January 2025. It was designed to help teachers, police officers, and firefighters who had been locked out of full retirement benefits due to old windfall provisions. By June 5, the SSA had cleared about 90% of those cases. It’s the kind of "boring" news that gets buried under a Musk tweet, but for those families, it was the biggest story of the year.
The Chaos in Los Angeles
On the ground in California, things were getting incredibly tense.
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The US news June 5 2025 reports were filled with footage of "Operation Southern Spear." ICE had just conducted a record-breaking raid, detaining over 2,200 people in a single day. In response, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposed a curfew on Downtown LA as anti-deportation protests turned into civil disobedience.
The legal battle also reached a fever pitch. California sued the administration over the deployment of the National Guard to the city. It was a classic federal-versus-state showdown that we’ve seen before, but the scale of the unrest felt different this time—more desperate.
Actionable Insights: Moving Forward
If you're looking back at the events of June 5, 2025, there are a few practical takeaways to keep in mind for navigating the current landscape:
- Watch the "America Party": Musk’s poll about a third party wasn't just a temper tantrum; it signaled a genuine splinter in the GOP coalition. Keep an eye on third-party registration trends if you're tracking political stability.
- Audit Your Tech Holdings: The volatility of June 5 showed that "political risk" is a real metric for stocks like Tesla. Diversifying away from companies heavily tied to a single personality is just common sense at this point.
- Check Your SSA Status: If you’re a retired public servant, ensure your benefits were part of that 90% completion rate. Don't assume the "retroactive" part happened automatically.
- Monitor Trade Negotiations: With Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent managing 18 active trade talks, including the EU and Canada, expect continued tariff volatility. If you’re in manufacturing, lock in supply chain contracts sooner rather than later.
The fallout from that Thursday didn't just end when the sun went down. It reshaped the political map and the stock market for the rest of the year.