Elon Musk intensified his critique of Donald Trump’s controversial ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, describing it as ‘profoundly irrational and detrimental’. The creator of Tesla was a significant element in Trump’s electoral campaign in the previous year. Musk suggested that without his involvement, Trump would have likely fallen to Kamala Harris in the presidential race. As part of his contribution, Musk was instrumental in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a body dedicated to reducing unnecessary government expenditure.
Upon stepping down from his position at DOGE following recent events, Musk expressed his disdain for Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, calling it ‘disgraceful’. He also criticized the proposed law as counterproductive to the essential work he had pursued within DOGE. However, Trump, in response, clarified that he was ‘let down’ by Musk’s allegations, maintaining that the tech-dynamo had thorough understanding of the bill’s details prior to his government departure.
In reverberations that followed, Musk used Twitter to insinuate that Trump’s name appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files. Although these tweets were subsequently removed, they managed to capture the attention of the White House. Officials described Musk’s actions as an ‘unfortunate incident’ attributing the comments to him; Musk’s contrite stance was also apparent when he acknowledged that some of his posts ‘crossed the line’.
After an apparent hiatus of some weeks, Musk returned to the political sphere with a Twitter post on Saturday, coincidentally his 54th birthday. Musk voiced his dissatisfaction with Trump’s pending legislation ahead of an essential vote that will decide the bill’s fate. “The most recent draft of the Senate’s bill threatens the livelihoods of millions of Americans and poses significant strategic damage to our nation,” Musk stated emphatically.
Musk continued, “It’s totally unsound and harmful. While it gratuitously supports outdated industries, it inflicts serious harm upon future-forward industries.” In a subsequent post, Musk opined the potential political cost of the legislation: “Polling data indicates this bill could spell political disaster for the Republican Party.”
On another front, Senate made a 51-49 progressive step towards initiating discussions on the bill, an occurrence Trump lauded as a ‘grand victory’. However, as the feud between Musk and Trump amplified publicly, Trump maintained that this didn’t breed any animosity between the two. “I could conceivably mend things [with him], but what’s vital now is rectifying the state of the country. My focus is elevating this nation to heights previously unattained. I believe we can accomplish that,” stated Trump.
When pressed about whether he presumed their rapport had ended, the former president informed reporters in the Oval Office: “That seems likely, yes. There are other pressing matters I need to attend to.” Despite persistent criticisms from Musk, it remains challenging to foresee a reconciliation between the onetime cordial duo.