President Donald Trump speculated Thursday that his former adviser Elon Musk opposes the Republicans’ tax cut, energy and security spending megabill over its provisions to end policies to promote electric vehicles.
But the Tesla CEO shot back on X, the social media platform he owns, that he doesn’t care if the GOP scraps tax credits and other policies favoring EVs.
Trump said he was “very surprised” and “very disappointed” with Musk’s opposition in recent days to the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
The billionaire has said his opposition stems from the trillions of dollars the bill could add to the federal deficit. The president and other some Republican lawmakers see other motives.
“Elon’s upset because we took the EV mandate — which, you know, was a lot of money for electric vehicles … they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy,” Trump told reporters in an Oval Office appearance with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The comments were the latest dustup in a growing feud between Musk and Republican leaders. Musk until last week was a top adviser to Trump and launched the U.S. DOGE Service, also known as the Department of Government Efficiency.
The spat threatens to derail the bill’s passage through the Senate and again through the House, especially after Musk has threatened to work to unseat lawmakers who vote for it.
Musk brushed off Trump’s comments. “Whatever,” he wrote on X. He said Republicans can “Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill,” but “ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK.”
In recent days, however, Tesla has publicly called for Republicans to keep at least some clean energy incentives. And Musk on Thursday repeated a complaint that “no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!).”
Trump said Musk had been closely involved in talks that led to the House passing the megabill last month. “I’m very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here. Better than you people,” the president said, referring to top administration officials.
“He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it,” Trump said. “All of the sudden, he had a problem. And he only developed the problem when he found out we were going to have to cut the EV mandate. Because that’s billions and billions of dollars.”
Musk denied that. “False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it,” he wrote on X.
Trump compared Musk to other officials in his administration who have left and made negative comments about him.
“Some of them actually become hostile. I don’t know what it is. It’s sort of Trump Derangement Syndrome, I guess they call it,” Trump said, deploying a term he and his supporters use to mock his opponents.
Musk’s storm of social media posts continued long after the president spoke. One of them recalled when the president bought a Tesla and praised Musk for not lobbying for special favors.
Reporter Kelsey Brugger contributed.
