Image Source: Agencies

July 1, 2025: On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump suggested that the government efficiency department investigate the cost-cutting subsidies that Tesla CEO Elon Musk's businesses have received. The world's richest man, Elon Musk, reiterated on Monday his criticism of Trump's expansive tax cut and spending bill, vowing to unseat lawmakers who backed it after campaigning on limiting government spending. Trump's remarks follow Musk's remarks. "Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. Our nation would save a fortune if rocket launches, satellites, and electric car production were stopped. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? "BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!" Trump wrote about the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a post on Truth Social. Musk wrote on his own social media platform, X, "I am literally saying CUT IT ALL" in response to Trump's post. Now."
Trump previously threatened to cut Musk's government subsidies and contracts when their relationship dissolved into an all-out brawl on social media in early June over the bill, which non-partisan analysts have said would add about $3 trillion to the US debt.
Musk's businesses include rocket company and government contractor SpaceX, which has about $22 billion in federal contracts, and its satellite unit Starlink.
His rift with Trump also caused volatility for Tesla, with shares of the electric car company losing about $150 billion of its market value on June 5, the largest single-day decline in the company's history, though it has since recovered.
On Tuesday, shares of Tesla that were traded in Frankfurt fell 5%. Musk returned to the discussion on Saturday as the Senate considered the package, describing it as "utterly insane and destructive" in a post on X after being relatively silent for several weeks as a result of his previous dispute with Trump regarding the legislation. He said on Monday that lawmakers who supported the bill but campaigned on cutting spending "should hang their heads in shame!" "And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth," Musk added.
"That we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!" was Musk's reiteration of his call for the formation of a new political party in response to the bill's substantial spending. After the tech billionaire spent nearly $300 million on Trump's re-election campaign and led the administration's controversial DOGE cost-cutting initiative, Musk's criticism marked a significant shift. Musk has argued that the legislation would greatly increase the national debt and erase the savings he says he achieved through DOGE.
It remains unclear how much sway Musk has over Congress or what effect his opinions might have on the bill's passage. But Republicans have expressed concern that his on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.