Well, that escalated quickly.

What seemed like a tight friendship and amicable working relationship between President Donald Trump and tech mogul Elon Musk came to a spectacular end this week, with the duo exchanging heated barbs in an all-out social media war that kicked off June 5.

“Without me, Trump would have lost the election... Such ingratitude," Musk wrote on his social media website X. Trump fired back on his own platform Truth Social, saying the CEO "just went CRAZY!"

The messy fallout between the two men − one the richest in the world and the other arguably the most powerful − prompted plenty of comments, jokes and concern from social media onlookers. "This is like the death row and bad boy records beef on steroids," one X user wrote, referencing a highly-publicized feud within the hip-hop industry.

Some called for the men to act more maturely, with one X user advising: "Both of you should get offline and talk to each other."

Shasta Nelson, a social relationships expert and the author of "The Business of Friendship: Making the Most of Our Relationships Where We Spend Most of Our Time," says friendship breakups like this are not uncommon, and they can be ugly when they happen.

When friends fall out in an unhealthy manner − like, for instance, with insults online for the world to see − Nelson says it's especially easy for what could have been a peaceful split to spiral into a toxic feud.

"These public relationships are a mirror to what happens so often," she says. "Both of them are trying to get from the public what they ultimately need from each other, which is feeling seen in safe and satisfying ways. ... They're trying to basically get that need met by public bullying and trying to get more people on their side, as though that would somehow be the equivalent."

Trump, Musk and when friends become enemies

For a while, Trump and Musk seemed inseparable.

Musk stumped for Trump on the campaign trail, memorably jumping for joy beside the president onstage. Shortly after taking office, Trump appointed him the head of a new government agency: the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which sent many a federal worker packing. The tech titan regularly sang the president's praises on social media and even brought his 4-year-old son to the Oval Office. Just last year, Trump tweeted an AI-generated video of himself and Musk dancing to "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees.

Then, things went sour. Musk and Trump drifted apart over what the president has described as his "big, beautiful" domestic policy bill − a piece of legislation that, Musk says, will significantly add to America's spending, if passed. Musk vehemently opposes the bill for this reason − after all, wasn't the whole point of DOGE to cut waste and reduce spending?

Tensions eventually spilled over on social media.

On X, Musk said Trump wouldn't have won a second term without the quarter of a billion dollars he spent on his 2024 campaign. On Truth Social, Trump suggested going after Musk's companies and their federal contracts. Then, Musk alleged Trump's name was in the Justice Department's files related to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Musk even went so far as to suggest Trump should be impeached.

So, how did things turn so hostile so quick? Well, Musk and Trump are both two people with strong opinions and strong personalities; perhaps a friendship-ending disagreement was only a matter of time.

What shouldn't be underestimated about a friendship breakup? The mental health toll. That's because, Nelson says, our society doesn't have proper etiquette when it comes to friends parting ways. Without a clear roadmap, friendship breakups often feel ambiguous, or sometimes lead to unnecessary hurt.

When that hurt gets magnified online, it tends to rise to the level of a feud.

"I can easily say that friendship breakups can sometimes be more complicated than romantic relationships, because, with romantic relationships, we have a lot more ritual around it, and we usually have more conversation," Nelson says. "In our friendships and our platonic relationships, it can be so complicated. We expect it to go easy. Our expectations are different, and then the grief can be a lot more, and the anger can be a lot more."

How to cope with a hostile friendship breakup

Still, if a friendship breakup takes a hostile turn − and then that hostility gets taken online − there are ways to deescalate the situation and reconcile.

Nelson recommends both friends laying down their swords and starting a respectful, ideally private, dialogue.

"The best approach is always to sit down and practice vulnerability with each other and practice taking responsibility for our own things," she says. "It's finding the place where we can apologize. It's finding a way to try to understand the other person. It's trying to use language where we say, 'Help me understand this.' "

If you find the other person is not amenable to that approach, psychotherapist Stephanie Sarkis advises ignoring the online slings and arrows. Responding tends to only add fuel to the fire.

"When people use social media to attack one another, it generally never goes well," she says. "No one ever said, 'Well, I'm really glad that I resolved that issue that way.'"

Some X users have given the men similar advice − and, based on a recent X post from Musk, he might be amenable to it.

"I support @realDonaldTrump and @elonmusk and they should make peace for the benefit of our great country," one X user wrote. "We are much stronger together than apart."

Musk's reaction? "You’re not wrong."

Contributing: Riley Beggin and Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk says Trump 'would have lost the election': When friendships implode

Reporting by Charles Trepany, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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