War of words over big bill intensifies between Musk, Trump
Washington: The war of words between billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump over the big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts is heating up again, with Musk claiming he may form a new political party and Trump blasting the Tesla CEO over electric vehicle subsidies.
The most prominent divide in the relationship between Musk and Trump is the president’s big bill. Musk ramped up his criticism of the bill just three days ago, arguing the legislation that Republican senators are scrambling to pass would kill jobs and bog down burgeoning industries.
Musk, who is also CEO of SpaceX, posted on X on Saturday that the bill would be “political suicide for the Republican Party”. With the Senate working its way through a tense overnight session that dragged into Tuesday, Musk suggested he will work to get members of Congress who vote for the bill out of their seats next year.
“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame,” he wrote on X. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
A few hours later, Musk followed up with a post claiming he will create a new political party if the bill passes.
“If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” he wrote. “Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.”
Musk’s post about the America Party was viewed 32 million times on X.
For his part, Trump focused some of his criticisms of Musk on EV mandates and subsidies. In a post on Truth Social early Tuesday morning, Trump said Musk has known that he’s against an EV mandate and that people should not be forced to own electric vehicles. “Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump wrote.
