So when Elon Musk, the new owner of Tesla and chief of all things tech, came out against the anti-Inflation- Act- Tax-and- Spending- Bill – Revolutionary – insurgency that Mr. He accordingly entitled it the “DEBT SLAVERY bill.” The chairman of one of the legislation’s biggest opponents, Senator Rand Paul, recently wrote on X. Here’s our original comment in reply to his post that started the discussion.
Critics, including the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, are warning that the bill will exacerbate the national debt. Buried in this proposed legislation are trillions of dollars of tax cuts and new spending. Both Senator Paul and Elon Musk have previously underscored the dangers of such a financial approach. They contend that the bill goes even further with sharp provisions to rob American taxpayers. Of particular concern are deep cuts to Medicaid and other critical programs.
Musk’s remarks coincide with a turbulent period for Tesla shares, which fell 7% ahead of the company’s Q2 deliveries. This drop is in large part due to Musk’s bitter and public war with Trump. Earlier in June, Trump publicly attacked Musk on social media, stating, “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!” This fiery exchange has further fueled the spotlight on both of their characters and their related business ventures.
Musk runs many other companies apart from Tesla that profit from policies supporting electric vehicles, including SpaceX and Solar City. Given this unique legislative moment, his opposition to the bill has stood out even more. The new legislation has huge tax incentives for chipmakers, which would have giant downstream effects across many sectors of the technology industry.
That’s why Musk’s comments on the bill are especially troubling. Meanwhile, other players of significance are moving their financial pieces adding to the macro picture. This past week, Jeff Bezos sold $737 million in Amazon stock. This historic and prudent move reflects a major change in the climate of corporate America.
The biggest spending increases in the bill are on immigration enforcement. This has led to fierce bipartisan fights over its budgetary effects. Musk, Paul, and their other critics believe this kind of short-term focus threatens long-term economic stability.