Introduction
This article published by CNBC on June 7, 2025, sparked significant interest due to Elon Musk’s now-deleted posts on X (formerly Twitter), including one where he seemingly agreed with a user calling for President Donald Trump to be impeached and replaced with Vice President JD Vance. The claims raise key questions about the authenticity of the posts, Musk’s political stance, and their implications amidst escalating tensions between the two prominent figures. At DBUNK, we investigate how much of this story holds up under scrutiny.
Historical Context
Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had a complicated relationship—occasionally aligned on deregulation and social media policy, yet increasingly critical of each other in recent years. In May 2025, Musk formally left his temporary role leading the Department of Government Efficiency appointed by Trump. Shortly after, tensions flared over a proposed legislative package dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Musk opposed provisions within the bill, publicly expressing his frustrations. Their exchanges rapidly evolved into personal accusations and social media jabs, marking a dramatic rupture between the former allies.
Fact-Check of Specific Claims
Claim #1: Elon Musk agreed that Trump should be impeached and replaced with VP JD Vance
The article states that on Thursday, Musk responded “yes” to a user’s post calling for Trump to be impeached and replaced by Vice President JD Vance. This post was reportedly deleted by Saturday morning. Archived versions of the Musk-X user thread confirm a reply that simply said “yes” in response to a comment advocating impeachment (source: Wayback Machine snapshot of X.com). Thus, it’s true Elon Musk did publicly endorse a statement calling for impeachment — but the context is limited. The one-word post leaves room for interpretation, and Musk has not elaborated beyond deleting the post.
Claim #2: Musk accused Trump of being named in Jeffrey Epstein files without providing evidence
Musk did post an accusation that Trump was listed among files associated with Jeffrey Epstein, according to multiple reports (CNBC, CNN). However, at no point in the post was documentation or sourcing provided. Publicly released Epstein-related documents as of June 2025 do not contain Trump as a named individual being investigated for criminal conduct in relation to Epstein (source: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Epstein case filings). Musk’s post lacks substantiation and was widely labeled as unverified by fact-checking teams at Reuters and CNN. Therefore, the claim was made, but with no factual support.
Claim #3: JD Vance criticized Musk for going after Trump, calling him “emotional”
This quote can be verified as accurate. JD Vance appeared on comedian Theo Von’s show on Friday and commented on the Musk-Trump fallout. During the interview, Vance stated, “Elon’s making a huge mistake here. He’s an emotional guy, and I think he let his frustration get ahead of his judgment.” Independent media outlets including Axios and CNBC corroborated this quote, and a video clip of the interview supports the transcription. This reflects a diverging stance between Vance and Musk on political engagement, and the quote stands as factually correct.
Conclusion
The CNBC article largely reports accurately on the key events surrounding Elon Musk’s deleted X posts and the subsequent media coverage. Musk did, in fact, endorse a post calling for Trump’s impeachment—though with few words and no further elaboration. He also made an unverified accusation about Trump and the Epstein files, which lacks supporting evidence and remains unproven. JD Vance’s response criticizing Musk is quoted correctly. While the article stays factual in presenting these events, it omits broader political context around the rift between Musk and Trump, which could give readers a clearer picture of motivations. However, there is no evidence Musk explicitly advocated for JD Vance to replace Trump beyond responding “yes” to a user suggestion.
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