By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Published: 28 May 2025 • 23:41
• 2 minutes read
The rift between Trump and Musk might widen after the Tesla’s criticism of the president’s Big Beautiful Bill | Credits: Newsweek
Elon Musk on Wednesday publicly criticised Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, saying the US president’s spending plan undermines cost-cutting efforts that the Tesla boss spearheaded, in comments The Guardian noted are likely to widen the rift between the two men.
“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful. But I don’t know if it could be both,” Musk said in a preview posted on X. The Tesla owner and former head of the Department of Government Efficiency said he was “disappointed to see the massive spending bill, which increases the budget deficit … and undermines the work that the Doge team is doing”.
The comments will fuel rumours of a growing falling-out between the billionaire and the US president, whom Musk helped bankroll last year, the Guardian said.
Tensions between Musk and Trump reached a breaking point after weeks of internal conflict, media spectacle, and eyebrow-raising public stunts. Sources close to the White House revealed that the billionaire’s maverick methods were becoming to be seen as liabilities rather than assets.
Sparking fierce resistance
The turning point, insiders said, may have come during a closed-door cabinet meeting where Musk unveiled a staggering proposal: cut hundreds of thousands of federal jobs and slash government spending by $2 trillion. While Trump had once welcomed bold disruption, this level of fiscal aggression sparked fierce resistance within his cabinet.
Now, Musk seems to be lashing out at Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was narrowly approved last week by the House of Representatives.
Trump’s budget spending bill advances several of his campaign promises, including extending tax cuts for individuals and corporations, as well as ending clean energy incentives enacted under the Obama administration.
It also involves approximately $ 1 trillion (£741 billion) in cuts to benefits aimed at supporting struggling households, including a health insurance scheme for low-income families, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food stamps.
‘Politically suicidal’
On the flipside, the bill funds the wall Trump has always promised to build along the border with Mexico, as well as staff and facilities for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Even when taking cuts into account, the bill is expected to add approximately $ 2.3 trillion to the deficit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Musk’s criticism could fuel further opposition from hardline Republicans, who have threatened to block Trump’s legislation as it passes through the US Senate unless the president implements deeper cuts that would reduce the national debt. One key senator, Rand Paul from Kentucky, told Fox News Sunday that the bill’s cuts would “explode the debt”.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon, a huge MAGA supporter, has also warned against such Trump’s bill. Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley said that cutting health insurance for the working poor would be “politically suicidal”.
