Conspiracy World Thinks the Musk-Trump Breakup Is a 'Psyop'

As Elon Musk and Donald Trump feuded, conspiracy theorists assured their followers it was all a show. "5D chess at its finest, baby—checkmate!” proclaimed one.

The extremely public and increasingly unhinged breakup of Elon Musk and president Donald Trump has caused chaos in DC, forced Silicon Valley executives to pick a side, and wiped more than $150 billion off Tesla’s market cap.

But in the conspiracy theory-addicted corners of the internet, the feud between Musk and Trump is nothing more than a fake, planned distraction. After Musk posted on X about Trump’s alleged relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the multimillionaire charged with sex trafficking of minors—“@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” Musk wrote.“That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”— conspiracy theorists were convinced this was all a plan to trick Democrats into ...