Kumar Bahukhandi
US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. (AP Photo)
This confrontation marks a dramatic turn in a relationship that had so far been largely politically linked. Musk was once one of Trump’s staunchest supporters. He reportedly spent nearly USD 300 billion to support Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 elections.
President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed disappointment over Elon Musk’s scathing criticism of the “One Big Beautiful Bill”. He said the Tesla CEO was always aware of the bill’s key provisions – particularly the proposed cut in the electric vehicle (EV) mandate. “I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped him a lot. He knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here. He had no problem with it. Suddenly he had a problem and the problem got worse when he found out we were going to cut the EV mandate,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
President Trump also said that Musk’s opposition stems from ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’s’ plan to phase out the federal consumer tax credit for EVs, which will directly affect Tesla. Trump said, ‘Look, Elon and I had a very good relationship. I don’t know if we will continue to have a good relationship. He said the best things about me and he didn’t say anything bad about me personally. That will be the next thing. But I am very disappointed.’ The impact of this bill was also seen on Tesla’s stock in the US stock market. Tesla’s shares fell by 8.44% on Thursday in Nasdaq, in the last two-three days, the stock of this company of Elon Musk, which makes electric vehicles, has fallen by 28 dollars.
Elon Musk calls Trump’s claims wrong
In a post on X, Musk wrote in response to comments that Donald Trump’s claims about ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ were wrong, “Wrong, this bill was not shown to me even once and it was passed so fast in the dark of night that almost no one in Congress could even read it.” In another post, Musk said: “Whatever. Keep the EV/solar incentives in the bill, even if oil and gas subsidies are not touched (very unfair!!).”
Trump would not have won the election without me: Elon Musk
Referring to the official title of the bill, Musk sarcastically wrote, “In the entire history of civilization, there has never been a law that is both BIG and BEAUTIFUL. Everyone knows this! Either you get the BIG and UGLY bill or the SLIM and BEAUTIFUL bill. SLIM and BEAUTIFUL is the way to go.” Responding to a user, Elon Musk wrote, ‘Without me, Trump would have lost the election, the Democrats would have controlled the House, and the Republicans would have had a 51-49 lead in the Senate.’ He called Trump ungrateful.
The confrontation marks a dramatic turn in a relationship that had until now been largely politically linked. Musk, once one of Trump’s staunchest supporters, reportedly spent nearly $300 billion to support Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 elections and played a key role in Trump’s sweeping federal cost-cutting initiative as head of the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency. But since stepping down from DOGE, Musk has become one of the most vocal opponents of the new law.
He has made several posts on X in opposition to this bill. He did not hide this fact in his posts earlier also. Elon Musk wrote in a post on Tuesday June 3, 2025, ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t tolerate it anymore. Shame on those who voted for this Big Beautiful Bill. You know you did wrong. You know you did wrong. You know this.’
