President Donald Trump is finally responding to Elon Musk’s criticism of his “Big Beautiful Bill.”
“Look, Elon and I had a great relationship,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday. “I don’t know if we will anymore.”
Trump said that Musk’s criticism of the bill likely stemmed primarily from the phase-out of the electric vehicle tax credit, which would likely impact his company, Tesla.
“You know, Elon’s upset because we took the EV mandate… which was a lot of money for electric vehicles,” Trump said. “And they’re having a hard time, the electric vehicles.”
“Elon knew this from the beginning,” Trump added.
The president also said that
On Tuesday, the tech titan unleashed on the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which is set to serve as the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote on X. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.”
Musk took issue with the bill’s projected impact on the federal deficit. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that in its current form, the bill would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years, while the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has said that number would be $2.5 trillion.
Musk previously said that the bill undermined the work of DOGE, which has sought to cut billions of dollars in federal spending.
Republicans on Capitol Hill have largely brushed off Musk’s criticism. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that Musk is “flat wrong” about the bill, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that the tech titan is “entitled to that opinion,” but “we’re going to proceed full speed ahead.”
