The feud between Donald Trump and his former ally, Elon Musk, was reignited once again on Tuesday after the world's richest person said he will back primary challenges against Republican senators voting for the president’s signature spending bill.
Trump's challenge prompted Trump to retaliate by threatening to scrap government subsidies for Elon Musk’s firms.
Trump on Tuesday suggested DOGE (Department of Government Expenditure) should take a look at cutting the subsidies that Musk's companies have received to save the federal government money. The berating from the US President came after Musk threatened to launch the ‘America Party’ if Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ was passed by the US Senate.
Trump launched a fiery tirade against Musk, accusing him of benefiting from massive US government subsidies while attacking the electric vehicle (EV) mandate.
In a characteristically unfiltered social media post, Donald Trump claimed that Elon Musk “may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far,” and suggested that without such government support, Musk would be forced to “close up shop and head back home to South Africa.”
The remarks come despite Musk having previously endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential bid, a point the US president addressed directly: “Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign.”
Donald Trump reiterated his long-held stance that while electric vehicles “are fine,” consumers should not be compelled to adopt them, calling the mandate “ridiculous.”
In a tone laced with sarcasm, Trump hit at Musk's SpaceX and Tesla saying, “No more rocket launches, satellites, or electric car production, and our country would save a fortune.”
Taking aim at the financial scale of government support for Musk’s ventures — from Tesla and SpaceX to Starlink — Trump even suggested DOGE should be brought in to scrutinise the tech mogul’s empire:
“Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard look at this? Big money to be saved," Trump's post said.
Elon Musk posted early on Monday: “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! And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
He added: “Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat‑Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a voice.”
The row escalated when Elon Musk blasted the Senate package for boosting borrowing by a record US$5 trillion: “It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record five trillion dollars that we live in a one‑party country – the porky pig party! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”
Elon Musk brands the bill “debt slavery” that props up “industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future”.