It Sure Seems Like Elon Musk Is Saying Scott Bessent Gave Him a Black Eye

Hey, remember when Elon Musk showed up in the White House with a black eye? Elon Musk sure remembers. While the world’s richest man initially blamed his five-year-old son for decking him in the face, he seems to be hinting at a slightly different version of the truth now. After Politico dropped a story about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatening to punch Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte in the face, Musk retweeted the story with the caption, “Hmm.”

Sure, under normal circumstances, a cryptic three-letter post from some rich guy wouldn’t matter. But, if you’ll remember, the rumor mill started turning almost immediately after Musk popped up with his darkened eye, with speculation that he got into a fight with someone in the White House. And one of the early potential culprits was Bessent, who, according to this new reporting, seems to have a thing about wanting to punch people in the face.

Musk appeared with the shiner on May 30, claiming that it came from “horsing around” with his son X. That also happens to be the same day that the fallout between Musk and Donald Trump started, reportedly spurned by a disagreement over who should head NASA and a standoff over a spending bill.

About a week later, the Washington Post revealed that the conflict in the White House wasn’t just emotional but physical. Per the report, Bessent started giving Musk shit about his inability to actually cut waste at the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk responded by calling Bessent a “fraud,” as told by Trump World insider and gossip hound Steve Bannon. Then, according to Bannon, Musk rammed his shoulder into Bessent’s ribs “like a rugby player,” which resulted in Bessent socking Musk.

At the time, Musk never confirmed that rumor, and it certainly seemed possible that it was hyperbole. After all, the details of Musk and Bessent’s battle went from a yelling match, according to the New York Times, to a chest-to-chest shoving match, per Axios, to the wrestling scrum that Bannon described. Bessent did address the rumor directly, denying that he punched Musk.

But now that Musk is out of the Trump orbit, at least personally, it seems like he’s willing to speak a little more freely, if not cryptically. At the very least, it seems he’s pointing at a pattern of behavior from Bessent, who apparently has a bit of a flair for the dramatic and maybe a little blood lust. Per Politico, Bessent threatened to punch Pulte “in the fucking face” over rumors that he was badmouthing Bessent to the President. When the two got separated, Bessent offered to take the situation outside. Pulte asked if they were going to talk it out, to which Bessent reportedly said, “No, I’m going to fucking beat your ass.”

Bessent never did punch Pulte, according to Politico. But it does seem like he may have landed a blow earlier on Musk. How long until Musk offers to settle the whole thing in the ring and then back out?