Musk went on to say on X the reason the Trump administration had not released the files into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was because they implicated the president. The White House called the assertions an “unfortunate episode”.

Meanwhile, Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally and Elon Musk critic, suggested there were grounds to deport the tech billionaire, who has US citizenship. Bannon told the New York Times: “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.”