Tesla Boss Criticizes President’s Tax Bill, Straining Trump-Musk Relationship
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, once a close aide to US President Donald Trump, has launched a campaign against Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. Since resigning from Trump’s administration as head of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk has ramped up his criticism of the tax bill. To date, he has made a dozen posts or reports on X criticising the bill.
About Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Trump’s self-described “big, beautiful bill” encompasses sweeping tax reductions and expands military expenditure. According to AFP, it is expected to add $2.4 trillion to US deficits over a 10-year horizon, despite deep cuts to health and food aid programs.
Trump’s big bill seeks to extend tax cuts approved in 2017, during Trump’s first term at the White House. The package also includes a massive buildup of $350 billion for border security, deportations and national security.
It further includes a $4 trillion increase to the nation’s $36 trillion debt limit, which the Treasury Department says is needed by this summer to pay the nation’s bills.
The bill is expected to decrease federal spending by $1.3 trillion, but also see a $3.7 trillion drop in revenues, according to the Congressional Budget Office ‘s (CBO) latest analysis. It would leave some 10.9 million more people without health insurance, the CBO said earlier.
However, US Senator Markwayne Mullin explained “how the One Big Beautiful Bill will bring back manufacturing and slash spending.”
The Bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives and is now awaiting a Senate vote.
Musk slams Trump’s new tax bill
In his latest salvo, Musk urged Americans to lobby Congress to “KILL the BILL”. He also cautioned that “America is in the fast lane to debt slavery”. In his many posts and retweets, Musk dubbed the ‘trillion-dollar Big Beautiful Bill’ as ‘Debt Slavery Bill’ or ‘The Big Ugly Bill’.
Musk had also called the bill a “disgusting abomination” on Tuesday. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk posted on X.
Musk has criticised Trump’s signature bill before, but before Tuesday afternoon, his rhetoric had been far more restrained and muted. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO announced his departure from the Trump administration on May 29.
Musk, who became Trump’s ‘first buddy’ during the 2024 US election campaign, had told CBC News, “I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful. I don’t know if it could be both.”
The White House brushed off the criticism, saying Trump “already knows where Elon Musk stood,” news agency AFP reported. Meanwhile, Trump has yet to respond personally to Musk’s social media rant. He was “caught off guard” but “not entirely surprised” by Musk’s opposition, a senior official told NBC News.
Why Musk opposes Trump’s tax bill
1. Musk believes that Trump’s new bill will increase the budget deficit and undermine the work that the DOGE team is doing. “It more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the @DOGE team at great personal cost and risk,” Musk posted on X.
As the head of DOGE, Musk helped the Trump administration reduce “wasteful” spending by announcing mass layoffs and shutting down government departments.
2. Musk contends that this “spending bill contains the largest increase in the debt ceiling in US history”. A post on X, reshared by Musk, stated that Trump’s bill “is a multi-trillion debt bomb tied to a tax cut. It’s gonna make you a slave”.
3. The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is expected to curtail subsidies that benefit Tesla, Musk’s electric automaker. Sources familiar with the Trump-Musk relationship told Axios that the tax legislation cuts the electric vehicle tax credit that helps car makers like Musk’s Tesla.
4. Axios also reported, citing sources, that Musk had sought to remain DOGE head as a “special government employee” beyond 130 days. “But ultimately, White House officials said he couldn’t keep serving in that capacity,” the report added.
5. Sources further alleged that Musk also wanted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to use his Starlink satellite system for national air traffic control. But the administration “baulked at it” because of the appearance of a conflict of interest and for technological reasons.
6. Most recently (Saturday, 31 May), Trump abruptly announced he was withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a Musk ally, to be NASA administrator. After Isaacman’s nomination was dropped, rumours spread that Sergio Gor — the director of the Office of Presidential Personnel who had clashed with Musk — was behind the decision, Axios reported.
What does Elon Musk demand?
Elon Musk has instead demanded that “a new spending bill should be drafted that doesn’t massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by 5 TRILLION DOLLARS”. He also urged lawmakers to rewrite the bill from scratch.
However, US President Donald Trump wants his “big, beautiful” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts on his desk to be signed into law by the Fourth of July (4 July).
Will it impact Trump, Musk’s friendship?
Sources told Axios that Musk and Trump “remain friends and allies”, but they said Trump was somewhat irked by Musk’s social media sabotage. “Elon was butthurt,” one source was quoted as saying.
However, according to Bloomberg, Musk’s public condemnation pits Musk against Trump at a critical time as the President is personally lobbying holdouts on the bill. Musk’s remarks could stiffen resistance and delay enactment of the tax cuts and debt ceiling increase.
During the 2024 US election campaign, Elon Musk had said he is “happy to be first buddy” to Donald Trump. He even earned “uncle” status in the Trump family.
NBC News reported that Musk spent more than $250 million to boost Trump last year and is free to pour money into a midterm campaign season in which control of Congress is up for grabs.
Musk became Trump’s advisor and close aide during the latter’s second term as President. He emerged as a core figure in Trump’s inner circle.
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