Elon Musk Slams Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” as “Insane and Destructive” Amid Republican Infighting
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tech billionaire Elon Musk reignited his public war against Donald Trump’s flagship legislation this weekend, calling the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” “utterly insane and destructive,” as the Senate scrambles to secure votes before Trump’s self-imposed July 4 deadline.
In a barrage of posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Musk criticized the 940-page bill as a catastrophic piece of legislation that “gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.” His comments came as Senate Republicans face internal fractures over key provisions in the bill, including deep cuts to Medicaid, massive corporate tax breaks, and sweeping federal preemptions on clean energy policies.
“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” Musk posted Saturday. “It’s putting America in the fast lane to debt slavery!”
A High-Stakes Clash of Billionaire vs. Billionaire
This isn’t the first time Musk has publicly opposed the legislation, but his renewed assault carries fresh political weight. In recent months, Musk had taken on a formal advisory role in the Trump administration as head of the Office of Government Efficiency, only to resign in protest after the House passed the bill in May.
Musk has argued that the bill’s estimated $4 trillion addition to the national deficit undermines any fiscal savings his office achieved. His most pointed criticism came in the form of a stark warning: “Polls show this bill is political suicide for the Republican Party.”
A recent NBC News Decision Desk poll supports his claim: a majority of respondents said maintaining existing programs like Medicaid is more important than passing new tax cuts. Even 40% of Republican voters cited reducing the national debt as their top concern—directly conflicting with the bill’s long-term budget projections.
EV Hostility at the Heart of the Conflict
Though Trump has suggested that Musk’s opposition is self-serving—tied to provisions eliminating electric vehicle tax credits—Musk countered that the bill is “incredibly destructive to America,” regardless of Tesla’s bottom line. The legislation repeals most clean energy incentives passed under the Inflation Reduction Act and replaces them with expanded subsidies for oil, gas, and coal infrastructure.
In a recent interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Musk offered a characteristically blunt take:
“I think a bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. I don’t know if it can be both.”
Deepening GOP Divide
Musk’s commentary has emboldened moderate Republicans already wary of the bill’s reach. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) cited anticipated Medicaid cuts and rural hospital closures as his reason for voting no. Multiple GOP senators are now floating last-minute amendments, further complicating the Senate’s path to passage.
Despite Trump’s framing of the bill as a unifying policy platform for 2026, the backlash from high-profile figures like Musk—and deep-pocketed clean energy donors—suggests the political cost may outweigh the strategic gain.
Final Word
Elon Musk’s latest broadside adds fuel to an already volatile fight in Washington. As the Senate careens toward a high-stakes vote on Trump’s legislative centerpiece, the clash between tech futurism and fossil fuel nationalism is now front and center. Whether Musk’s warnings sway enough votes to stop the bill remains to be seen—but one thing is clear: the battle over America’s economic future is no longer just in the hands of politicians. It’s in the hands of billionaires, too.
