By Ayo Kehinde
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United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to cut federal subsidies to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s companies, reigniting a public feud between the two influential billionaires over government spending.
In a fiery post on Truth Social, Trump criticized Musk for benefiting from what he described as “historic” levels of government support and called for a rollback of subsidies to save taxpayer funds.
“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far. Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back to South Africa,” Trump wrote.
“No more rocket launches, satellites, or electric car production — and our country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
The outburst followed Musk’s escalating criticism of what Trump had earlier described as a big, beautiful bill, sweeping government spending package that Musk claims will balloon the national debt and hurt American industry.
Musk posted on his X platform: “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!
“They will lose their primaries next year if it’s the last thing I do on this Earth.”
Musk also pledged his support for Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of the few lawmakers who opposed the bill.
Trump had earlier promised to campaign against Massie in the GOP primary, vowing to back “a wonderful American Patriot” to challenge him.
The billionaire tech mogul, who resigned from his advisory role in the Department of Government Efficiency in May, has repeatedly slammed the legislation.
He warns it could increase the U.S. debt ceiling by $5 trillion, cause massive job losses, and do “immense strategic harm” to the country.
A major point of contention for Musk is the potential elimination of electric vehicle tax credits under the new law — including the $7,500 federal credit for new EVs and $4,000 for used ones.
Financial giant JPMorgan Chase has estimated that the loss of those incentives could cost Tesla up to $1.2 billion in revenue.
Breaking his silence over the weekend, Musk called the bill “utterly insane and destructive” as it advanced through the Senate.
In response, Trump doubled down on his opposition to the electric vehicle mandate, accusing Musk of political flip-flopping.
“Elon knew I was strongly against the EV Mandate long before he endorsed me,” Trump posted Monday night.
“Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. That’s just ridiculous — and always has been.”
