Elon Musk tore into President Donald Trump’s megabill Tuesday, calling it a “disgusting abomination” over its expected effects on the national debt.
The Tesla CEO’s critique of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” came as Senate Republicans mull changes to the House-passed tax cut, energy and security spending package.
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.
“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” he continued.
In a later post, Musk said the legislation would “massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
Tesla last week laid out more limited criticisms of the megabill, centered on its quick sunsetting of tax credits for residential solar energy and clean electricity equipment.
“Abruptly ending the energy tax credits would threaten America’s energy independence and the reliability of our grid,” the Tesla Energy unit, which oversees its solar and battery operations, wrote in an X post that Musk later amplified.
Musk’s Tuesday post sent Republicans scrambling to save their bill, which already has razor-thin margins that could be threatened by changes in the Senate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Musk was wrong about the legislation. “With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’” he told reporters.
“It’s very disappointing. I’ve come to consider Elon a good friend,” Johnson continued, applauding Musk’s work with the U.S. DOGE Service, also known as the Department of Government Efficiency.
Johnson indicated Musk’s opposition may be related to the bill’s provision to repeal the EPA’s 2024 greenhouse gas emissions rule for cars, which he calls the “EV mandate.”
“It’s part of the Green New Deal. And I know that has an effect on his businesses, and I’ll admit that,” Johnson said. “But for him to come out and pan the whole bill is, to me, just very disappointing.”
Musk did not mention the emissions rule in his posts. The billionaire has opposed EV mandates and called for the end of pro-EV tax credits.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Republicans have a “difference of opinion” with Musk, and “he’s entitled to that opinion.”
“All the modeling that we’ve seen suggests that the changes that are being made in the tax policy … are going to lead to significant growth,” Thune said, criticizing the Congressional Budget Office’s forecast that the bill would increase federal deficits by $3.2 trillion over a decade.
On the other hand, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, the only Republican to vote against the legislation, welcomed Musk’s comments. “He’s right,” Massie responded on X.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) could barely contain his delight following Musk’s tweet. At a press conference, he was asked about Johnson suggesting Musk was upset about the megabill targeting climate-related credits.
“I haven’t spoke to Elon Musk, I’m not sure what the reasons are for this extraordinary statement, but we’re in complete agreement,” Jeffries said, while bashing Republicans for wanting to “detonate” the tax credits.
