There’s no boxing match happening between Elon Musk and Donald Trump – but make no mistake, these two heavyweights are swinging hard in Washington.
And it’s not over personality. It’s over policy. More specifically, over what’s being called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Now, that’s a mouthful. But here’s the deal:
Trump says it’s a cornerstone of his second-term agenda. Musk calls it a disaster. And conservatives everywhere are now asking – who’s right?
The bill is packed with tax cuts and government spending – lots of it.
Trump’s folks say it’s about “making America secure and strong,” with $350 billion set aside for things like border security and defense.
Sounds good on the surface, right? But there’s a catch.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan group that does the math on this kind of thing, estimates it could add between $2.3 and $5 trillion to our national debt over the next ten years.
That’s a lot of zeroes.
Elon Musk – the same guy behind Tesla, SpaceX, and Trump donor – has turned into one of the bill’s loudest critics.
He’s not mincing words either. On X Musk called the bill a “disgusting abomination.”
He’s accused it of undoing everything he worked for while heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a now-defunct agency where Musk tried cutting federal waste.
And he’s not stopping at just complaining.
Musk is threatening to primary Republicans who support it—basically backing challengers to kick them out of office in the next election. He even posted, “KILL the BILL” in all caps.
Some folks say Musk is just mad because the bill cuts electric vehicle tax credits – something Tesla depends on.
That’s fair. EV credits make buying electric cars more affordable, and cutting them hits Musk’s wallet. But it’s not just that.
He’s also ticked off about:
- The White House scrapping Jared Isaacman’s NASA nomination (a Musk ally).
- New federal AI contracts going to his competitors, like OpenAI.
- And the whopping $350 billion price tag for defense and border measures that, in Musk’s view, aren’t balanced by real cuts elsewhere.
In other words, Musk thinks the bill is a giant spending spree dressed up in conservative clothing.
Trump hasn’t gone after Musk personally – yet.
He says he doesn’t love everything in the bill but still calls it “beautiful” because it delivers on his promises: tax cuts, tougher immigration enforcement, and more defense spending.
His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, shrugged off Musk’s social media attacks, saying, “President Trump already knows where Elon stands.”
This isn’t just Musk vs. Trump. It’s turning into a civil war inside the GOP.
On one side, you’ve got fiscal hawks like Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee who agree with Musk. They’re warning that the U.S. simply can’t afford to keep spending like this.
They’ve been saying it for years.
On the other side, big-name Republicans like Senate Majority Leader John Thune are pushing the bill forward, saying Musk is “terribly wrong” and only upset about Tesla’s bottom line.
Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are trying to capitalize on the division. They’re quoting Musk in their opposition to the bill.
Of course, they’re not exactly fiscal conservatives themselves – so many on the right are asking, do they really care about spending, or are they just enjoying the GOP drama?
The bill still has to pass the Senate, where Republicans have only a slim majority.
If a few conservative senators peel off – especially with Musk putting public pressure on them – it could stall or die altogether.
And with the CBO warning about trillions more in debt, that’s something every taxpayer should be paying attention to.
This isn’t a personality feud. Musk and Trump were once political allies. But now, they’re miles apart on what “conservative” should mean.
Musk wants real spending cuts. Trump wants bold action, even if it costs a little more.
At the end of the day, maybe it’s not about who’s right or wrong – but about whether America can afford another “big beautiful” bill with a big ugly price tag.
UPDATE: Uh-oh. This just in. The gloves are coming off…
False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it! https://t.co/V4ztekqd4g
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
