United States: Elon Musk has criticised the latest version of Donald Trump’s sprawling tax and spending package, calling it ‘utterly insane and destructive’ as the US Senate prepares to open debate on the nearly 1,000-page legislation.
Musk stated that, “The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, went further to warn that pushing forward with the bill would amount to political suicide for the Republican Party.
The tech mogul’s comments have reignited a tense feud between him and the Trump administration, just weeks after he stepped down from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His outspoken complaint adds fresh pressure on Senate Republicans, who are racing against time to meet Trump’s July 4th deadline for passing the package.
Earlier this month, Musk also slammed the House version of the bill, describing it as a disgusting abomination and criticising lawmakers who supported it.
Musk continued his offensive, claiming the Senate bill would undercut key US investments in renewable energy and emerging technology. He shared and endorsed posts from Jesse Jenkins, a Princeton-based energy systems expert, who blamed the bill’s energy provisions as ‘truly so bad.’
Jenkins remarked that, “The energy provisions in the Republicans’ One Big Horrible Bill are truly so bad! Who wants this? The country’s automakers don’t want it. Electric utilities don’t want it. Data centre developers don’t want it. Manufacturers in energy-intensive industries don’t want it.”
The bill remains on shaky ground in the Senate. While Republican leaders hope to muscle it through with their majority, conflict is growing. Some GOP senators are wary of the proposal’s cuts to Medicaid and food stamp programs, designed to assist offset the cost of extending Trump-era tax breaks. Meanwhile, fiscal conservatives are calling for even deeper spending reductions to manage the national debt.
As negotiations continue, Musk’s public rebuke underscores the challenges facing the Republican Party as it tries to unite around Trump’s sweeping economic agenda.
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