Trump 'very disappointed' in billionaire Elon Musk, billionaire accuses president of 'ungratefulness'
The US president has responded to the tech billionaire's criticism of his tax and spending bill.
US President Donald Trump said he was "very disappointed" in Elon Musk after the tech billionaire criticized his tax and spending bill.
Mr. Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of social network X, recently resigned as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – an agency created by Mr. Trump during his second term to implement widespread federal spending cuts.
The billionaire has criticized the bill, known as the 'Big Beautiful Bill', claiming that it increases public debt and thus goes against DOGE's goals.
Speaking to reporters on June 5, Mr Trump said that Mr Musk – who he claimed “knew everything” about the bill – suddenly had a problem with it “when he found out that we were going to have to cut the electric vehicle mandate, because it’s billions and billions of dollars…”
“And if you see the statements he made about me… I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot,” he added.
Mr Musk has stepped up his attacks on Mr Trump's tax cut bill, claiming this week that it would plunge America into "debt slavery" and calling on lawmakers to "kill the bill".
The House passed the president's flagship bill in May, and Mr. Trump aims to sign the final version before July 4, pending Senate approval.
Mr Musk has disputed Mr Trump's claim that he knows more about the bill than anyone, posting on X that it is "false" and adding that he has never seen the bill.
In another post, the billionaire escalated by accusing the president of being "ungrateful".
The bill, which Mr. Trump strongly supports, seeks to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent and provide deeper tax cuts, while boosting spending in areas like defense and border security.
Critics warn it would disproportionately benefit the wealthy and significantly increase public debt. An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released this week forecasts the bill would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade and leave 10.9 million more Americans without health insurance by 2034.
Mr. Musk, who is credited with helping achieve an estimated $175 billion in savings through agency closures and staff reductions under the DOGE initiative, has expressed concern that the bill’s provisions could undo those gains.