President Donald Trump renewed digs on Elon Musk after his former “first buddy” trashed his beloved “Big Beautiful Bill” again.
Trump, 79, told Fox News that Musk, 54, could not accept the fact that Republicans do not want to continue doling out billions in electric vehicle credits, which were notably left out of Trump’s mega bill.
The president suggested that exclusion spurred Musk’s meltdown on June 5, in which the world’s richest man accused Trump of being in the so-called Epstein Files and even called for his impeachment. Trump hit Musk back hard, threatening to pull federal contracts for his companies if he did not fall in line but has since softened his tone when talking about his 2024 campaign’s top donor.
“He got a little bit upset, and you know that wasn’t appropriate,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo, who asked about Musk in a Sunday morning interview.
Asked about the billionaires’ current relationship, Trump said he has “not spoken to him much.”
Musk was not as composed in his critiques of Trump’s bill on Saturday, which also happened to be the Tesla CEO’s birthday. He decried the budget bill, expected to raise the U.S. deficit despite MAGA promises to lower federal spending under Trump, as not just “utterly insane and destructive” but also an act of “political suicide.”
“This bill raises the debt ceiling by $5 TRILLION, the biggest increase in history, putting America in the fast lane to debt slavery!” Musk posted.
Trump says Musk would not be complaining about the Big Beautiful Bill had the EV credit, which provides electric vehicle purchasers a federal credit of up to $7,500, been included. Musk has countered that he opposes any bill that raises the national deficit, whether the EV credit is included or not.
“The electric vehicle mandate, EV mandate, is a tough thing for him,” Trump said Sunday. “I would think, you know, I don’t want everybody to have to have an electric car. You know, I campaigned on, you have a choice if you want a gasoline power, if you want a hybrid, if you want—I love the electric, I love his cars. I think he’s fantastic, but not everybody should have that.”
