Donald Trump declared open war on Elon Musk, branding the billionaire "a man who's lost his mind". The outburst came less than 24 hours after the world's richest man claimed the US leader's name appears in the FBI's Jeffrey Epstein files, adding it was the reason they had not been made public. Any hopes of reconciliation between the two former allies were obliterated today after Musk hinted at a truce, only for Trump to respond with full-scale personal attacks. "I'm not even thinking about Elon," the president said. "He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem. I won't be speaking to him for a while, I guess, but I wish him well." When asked if he would accept Musk's call, Trump shot back, "You mean the man who has lost his mind?" The explosion follows Musk's nuclear accusation he posted directly to his own platform, X, on Thursday, that the US leader is named in the secret Epstein files. "Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files," Musk wrote. "That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!" The claim sent shockwaves through Washington and plunged the White House into emergency crisis mode. There is no suggestion Donald Trump knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour. Today, fears emerged that Musk could publicly name Prince Andrew, who has vehemently and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing during his friendship with Epstein, as one of the powerful men identified in the files, dragging him once more into the spotlight regarding his friendship with the disgraced financier. The Mirror has learnt Musk has been privately telling associates he has "direct knowledge" of the classified Epstein evidence from his four months working in the White House. He claims that "dozens of powerful men" are named, including the Duke of York, who was pictured with his late pal on numerous occasions. There is no suggestion Prince Andrew knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour. During their friendship, Andrew was a guest of Epstein at his home throughout the States, while the royal hosted Epstein at the royal palaces. The Duke also flew on the American's private jet, according to court-released flight logs. Insiders say Epstein's entire inner circle - from Mar-a-Lago to Manhattan - is now in full-blown panic. "If Elon's willing to drop Trump, no one is safe, not even royalty," said one senior Washington DC source. "While he had close ties to the Trump administration, Musk had eyes and ears everywhere. He knows exactly who was connected to Epstein and how deep it goes. No one could do more damage to Trump world than Elon right now, and the President's aides know it." Musk's erratic behaviour, amid reports of heavy ketamine and drug use, has made him a volatile and unpredictable threat. Another insider warned: "You've got the world's richest man with access to explosive material, a platform to drop it on 185 million people, and if the allegations are true, whose mind is not always thinking clearly. That's not just dangerous. It's a nightmare." The Trump administration is reportedly watching Musk "like a hawk," with some MAGA allies trying to broker a peace deal to stop Musk from making more incendiary claims about his former boss. "If that means Elon throws other people under the bus and not him, then Trump will be all for it," added the source. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi released a heavily redacted tranche of Epstein files, including partial flight logs and blurred-out names. She has since released a small amount of papers that the FBI has handed over, though thousands more still remain unreleased. A former national security aide added: "If Musk dumps what he knows, it won't just shake politics. It'll shatter the global elite." Tensions between Trump and his former 'First Buddy' Musk, are so high that the president is now moving to sever every remaining tie with the man who bankrolled his return to the White House. He's ditching the Tesla he bought in a very public show of support. In March, Trump paid full price for a red Tesla, telling aides he wanted to "support Elon" amid a wave of anti-Tesla protests and attacks across America. The vehicle is currently parked at the White House and is intended for staff use. Now, a senior official confirmed to The Mirror that Trump plans to sell it or give it away. "He doesn't want anything to do with Musk," the official said. "Not even the car." The fallout is deeply personal. Last year, Musk pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump's re-election. He restored his X account and helped engineer the property mogul's digital resurrection. Back then, Trump talked about transparency and pledged to reveal the names in the Epstein files if re-elected. During an appearance on the Lex Fridman Podcast last year, he said: "I never went to his island, fortunately. But a lot of people did." Asked why so many powerful figures were drawn to Epstein, Trump said: "He was a good salesman, a hailing, hardy guy, and he had some nice assets that he'd throw around like islands. But a lot of big people went to that island. But fortunately, I was not one of them." Fridman pressed further on why the client list hadn't been released. Trump replied: "Yeah, it's very interesting, isn't it? It probably will be, by the way. I'd certainly take a look at it. But yeah, I'd be inclined to do the Epstein." Musk was rewarded for his support of Trump. The president appointed him head of the newly created and powerful Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a role that saw him slash tens of thousands of federal jobs - a move hailed by MAGA loyalists but condemned across America. However, their alliance began to collapse after Trump's "Big, Beautiful" £980 billion spending bill gutted electric vehicle tax credits, wiping nearly £22 billion off Tesla's market value. Musk was livid. Tesla stock nosedived. He blamed Trump. Now, insiders say the president has a new strategy: cut Musk off completely and neutralise him before he can do more damage. The White House is watching the tech mogul "like a hawk," said one source, terrified of what he might reveal next. "You've got the world's richest man, reportedly using ketamine and other drugs, in possession of a platform that can broadcast to billions of people and allegedly sitting on a file that could blow up the global elite," they added. "That's not a red flag. That's a five-alarm fire." Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, has so far only released a partial dump of the Epstein materials - a limp, heavily redacted batch of flight logs and contact pages in February. She's demanded thousands more pages from the FBI's New York field office but has offered no timeline or reason for the delay. And with Musk now threatening to take matters into his own hands, the pressure is exploding inside the highest levels of government. "If he dumps what he knows," said a former national security advisor, "it won't just shake politics. It'll detonate the global elite." On Thursday, after Musk claimed Trump's name was contained in the Epstein files, he doubled down on his attack. Among a barrage of social media posts attacking the president, he threatened to decommission a spacecraft contracted to NASA and needed to return astronauts from the International Space Station. Although he later retracted the threat, the Tesla CEO agreed with another post, saying that Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him. He also followed up his original tweet by asking his followers to "Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out." He then posted: "The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year." Steve Bannon, one of Musk's most vocal critics for months, said he advised the president to cancel all of Musk's government contracts and launch several investigations into the world's richest man "They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately," he said.