Monday, July 20, 2026

Trump cuts Musk to size, says Tesla owner could return to South Africa without U.S. subsidies

• July 1, 2025
Trump standing with Musk
President Donald Trump standing with Elon Musk[Credit: AI Jazeera]

President Donald Trump and his former ally, Elon Musk, have renewed their public feud over the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that critics argue would increase the country’s national debt by over $3.3 trillion.

Reiterating his opposition to the bill on X, Mr Musk on Monday issued a threat to senators planning to support the bill, vowing to fund candidates against them in the 2026 midterm elections if they fail to uphold their campaign promises to cut government funding.

“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!” Mr Musk said in a post on X.

He added, “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

Mr Musk’s statement posed a significant threat to the passage of the bill that currently hangs in the balance amid a split between Republican lawmakers in the Senate. The bill was narrowly passed in the House in a 215-214 vote last week.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump was quick to respond to the comments made by his former ally, threatening to cut all current government subsidies that companies owned by Mr Musk, including Tesla and SpaceX, are currently enjoying.

Furthermore, Mr Trump insinuated that Mr Musk is only going against him because of his refusal to implement the electric vehicle mandate, noting that the businessman is the biggest recipient of subsidies in the United States and would have gone to South Africa without the U.S. government’s support.

“Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the Electric Vehicle Mandate,” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign.”

He added, “Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidies 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.

“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 public outburst marked the latest episode of rivalry between the duo, which began in June over the bill, before the scene rapidly descended into Mr Musk accusing Mr Trump of being complicit in the high-profile child sex trafficking case involving deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein.

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