Photo: Alamy | Analysis by Summer Lane
The internet lit up this week as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk roundly criticized President Trump and the “One Big Beautiful Bill” championed by the White House, controversially setting tongues wagging about whether the friendship between Musk and Trump is over – and whether the MAGA movement will accept Musk’s criticisms of the 47th president going forward.
The legislation – which postures to codify items like the much-needed Trump Tax Cuts, the elimination of taxes on tips and overtime, child tax credit raises, and major border security investment – is being pushed heavily by President Trump and his administration, so Musk’s sudden and very public opposition to it has come as a surprise.
“I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the innerworkings of this bill, better than almost anybody sitting here…he had no problem with it, all of the sudden he has a problem, and he only developed a problem when he found out that we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate because that’s billions and billions of dollars, and it really is unfair,” Trump said on Thursday, during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship, I don’t know if we will anymore,” the president continued.
He even suggested that Musk’s departure from the administration as a top advisor and leader of DOGE could be a contributing factor to the sudden fallout, hinting, perhaps, that Musk wasn’t thrilled about stepping away from the Oval Office at all.
“At some point they miss it so badly…some of them embrace it and some of them actually become hostile – I don’t know what it is, it’s sort of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Trump remarked. “…They wake up in the morning and the glamour’s gone, the whole world is different, and they become hostile.”
And Musk has certainly exuded political hostility in the past week, calling Trump’s legislation the “Big Ugly Bill,” and accusing the president of “ingratitude” in the wake of their alliance during the 2024 election.
Such radioactive language seems nearly inconceivable, given Musk’s propensity for going above and beyond in his support of Trump. Whether Musk was wearing “Dark MAGA” hats, attending Trump rallies, or making frequent visits to Mar-a-Lago and the White House with his son, X, in tow, it begs the question: why oppose the president’s legislation at all, and why make the rift so glaringly public?
Musk’s argument falls a little flat
This opposition seems counterproductive to the message of political unity championed not only by Trump, but at one point, by Musk himself – a lifelong Democrat who became a fervent ally of the GOP to assist President Trump’s historic campaign in 2024.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” being considered in the U.S. Senate right now arguably has many more positives than negatives, because despite legislative bloat that is nearly always carried by bills in Congress, it codifies much-needed campaign promises Trump made to the American people.
The brunt of Musk’s argument against the bill seems to hinge on its price tag, which he says will raise the deficit by trillions.
However, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller laid out the Trump strategy on the bill, writing on X, “There are 2 ways to raise the debt ceiling: 1. With Chuck Schumer at 60 votes (which means higher taxes, higher spending, liberal wishlist) 2. In reconciliation at 50 votes (which means permanent tax cuts, permanent welfare reform, permanent border security). Easy choice.”
The logic here is that Congress will never pass a perfect bill, but the “One Big Beautiful Bill” will, at the very least, ease tax burdens on Americans and reinforce integral border security measures.
And with such a slim majority of Republicans in Congress – and chronic infighting, lobbying, and special interest groups vying for a piece of the legislative pie – it seems that Trump’s bill is the best Americans are realistically going to get at this moment.
Is it perfect? No. Will it ever be perfect? Probably not. But tax cuts are indeed desperately needed, particularly among middle-class Americans, and it seems odd that Musk stands in such stringent opposition.
Trump punches back, echoing 2022 statements
President Trump, never one to back down from a fight, punched back at Musk’s hostile comments on social media, writing on Thursday that Musk had been “wearing thin” at the White House before he was asked to leave. “…I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!”
Musk shot back on X, stating that this comment was “an obvious lie” and called it “sad.”
The interaction revived similar patterns of dialogue between the two men in 2022, when Trump called Musk “another bullshit artist” during a “Save America” rally. The president made this comment three years ago, pushing back against Musk’s claim that he had always voted Democrat.
In 2022, Trump said, “Elon never told me he only voted for Democrats. In fact, he told me he voted for ‘Trump,’ and would do so again.”
It begs the question: is Musk really concerned about the deficit, or is he more concerned about his reportedly waning influence in the Oval Office now that he has departed from the White House? There is no easy answer here or plain evidence that the public can use to make a judgment.
After heroically uncovering evidence of alleged waste, fraud, and abuse with DOGE, Musk certainly contributed to helping further the president’s agenda, and he was applauded for it, as he should be. It was a phenomenal effort and provided much-needed transparency of many federal institutions.
Based on his previous enthusiasm for the Trump campaign and administration, Musk’s blistering criticisms of Trump seem out of character and misplaced. Regardless, the president will certainly not take such opposition lightly – and he proved that on Thursday when he threatened to terminate Musk’s government contracts, slapping back facetiously at Musk’s calls to save money in the U.S. budget – the crux of his argument against the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
One thing is clear: the American people overwhelmingly elected President Donald Trump as their Commander-in-Chief, and despite Musk’s online commentary or political opposition, voters can be certain that Trump will do whatever he can to ensure his campaign promises are brought to fruition.
