Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, just slammed former President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and spending bill. He called it a “disgusting abomination.” This time, Musk took to social media to express a wave of inflammatory threats and propaganda. He called for Trump’s impeachment on multiple grounds and noted that the legislation in question would massively increase the federal debt. This represents a dramatic repositioning of their alliance, as Musk was widely regarded up until now to be one of Trump’s top supporters.
Musk really stepped in it when he attacked Trump’s signature tax cuts and spending bill as a disaster. He vigorously lobbied against these measures, claiming they detrimental to job growth. He claimed that the federal government is covering up the truth about Trump’s ties to operative and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. He did not provide any evidence to support this claim. In a strange turn of events, by Saturday morning Musk seemed to have deleted his entire thread about Epstein.
Musk’s comments follow on the heels of a reported falling-out with Trump, leaving pundits to wonder about their once-impenetrable alliance. Earlier this year, Musk was a seemingly regular fixture by Trump’s side, but their marriage has turned extremely acrimonious very quickly. Musk’s latest comments have stirred up confusion, disapproval, and rebuke from political leaders, including Ohio Senator JD Vance.
Vance even expressed his concern about Musk’s criticisms being too severe. Look, I’m as frustrated as any of you with some of those comments from Elon that seem unwarranted, but I think the president has been very measured here because the president doesn’t want a tit for tat fight with Elon Musk. He concluded with the comment that he thinks the situation can get much better if Musk would just cool his jets a bit.
The billionaire entrepreneur has produced his own version of a “department of government efficiency.” This contentious division deals mainly with cutting government spending and shrinking its footprint. This flawed initiative has brought about the layoff or exodus of thousands of experienced professionals from the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. Musk’s financial wizardry, on display through his companies, has garnered him profound influence. Yet, most concerning in this vein, his recent actions and statements could deepen rifts among allies on Capitol Hill.
In his testimony posts, Musk even called on Congress to defeat Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” He strongly denkt the legislation in question is both objectively incorrect as well as intentionally deceptive. As Vance noted on Twitter, it’s ridiculous for them to claim nobody has had an opportunity to read that bill. He focuses on this in light of current conversations surrounding its meaning and implications.
Vance vigorously defended Donald Trump saying about Epstein, “Absolutely not. Donald Trump didn’t do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein.” …he bravely withstood Musk’s accusations. He further noted that he has experienced moments of frustration similar to Musk’s recent outbursts: “I’ve flown off the handle way worse than [Elon Musk] did in the last 24 hours.”
Musk’s track record of erratic and rancorous social media outbursts is notorious. His most recent attacks highlight a continuing, larger story of establishment Republican strife between him and Trump. As the political landscape changes they’ll both need to be sensitive to where their political fortunes lie.