Introduction to the Feud
The ceasefire between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump did not even last a month. After the Senate had almost passed a procedural vote for the debate about Trump’s "Big, Beautiful Bill" at the weekend, Musk said on Monday that he would use his enormous resources to start primary campaigns against Republicans in Congress who voted for the massive agenda of domestic political conditions.
Musk’s Opposition to the Bill
Musk spent a large part of Monday and early Tuesday morning publishing and re-publishing messages that criticize the tax cut and expenditure calculation, especially for the sky-high costs. Trump late Monday evening fought back and suggested that his government could investigate the massive state subsidies of Musk’s companies.
The Feud Escalates
So far, the feud has not become as personal or malignant as its public blow-up last month, as Musk Trump presented information about the public financier and the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and claimed that Trump’s name was included in the so-called government of the government. A week after the climax of this feud, Musk said that he had regretted some of his posts on Trump.
Musk’s Change of Tone
Musk deleted some of his most inflammatory X posts, including those relating to Epstein, and another who agreed with the proposal that Trump should be charged. Since then, Musk had mitigated his tone about Trump and the legislative template and largely postponed his focus on social media and interviews. This changed dramatically on Monday when Musk continuously published his opposition to Trump’s signature legislation.
The Impact on Tesla
The battle costs Musk, where it counts: Tesla’s stock, which had fallen by almost 5% in premarket trade on Tuesday after it lost 2% on Monday and missed the wider stock market profits that sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs. Most of Musk’s assets are associated with publicly traded shares in Tesla.
Trump’s Threat
Trump reacted with a threat early on Tuesday morning: he was able to use Doge, which once led Musk, to examine the government contracts and subsidies from Musk’s companies. "Elon may be more subsidy than any other person in history, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close the shop and return to South Africa," Trump continued.
The Dependency on Government Contracts
Musk’s companies are dependent on the Federal Government as the main source of income. And the other companies of Tesla, SpaceX and Musk, including the social media platform X, the artificial intelligence companies Xai and the Brain computer interface Neuralink, all are the regulations of the Federal Government. In contrast to SpaceX, Tesla has the majority of his money from the government from relatively few government contracts.
The Potential Consequences
The loss of the EV tax credit Tesla could cost 1.2 billion US dollars per year and the loss of sales for the order credit of a further 2 billion US dollars. "At the end of the day it won’t go well to be on Trump’s bad side, and Musk knows that," wrote Dan Ives, analyst at WEDBUSH Securities.
Musk’s Motivation
Trump has argued that Musk’s primary opposition is against the large, beautiful calculation of the loss of EV tax credits. Musk denies that it is never about visiting a post on Monday with the inscription "Elon’s opposition to the" a great beautiful bill ", eliminating the EV tax credits or the EV mandate, only about its passionate opposition to increasing public debt. "Everything I ask is that we don’t have America bankrupt", Musk posted.
The Uncertain Outcome
It is unclear whether Musk’s threats will kill the opportunities of the law. Trump carried out a massive pressure campaign in the holding outs and brought members of the Congress into a difficult position of selecting Musk and his war treasure by cash via Trump and his bullying pulpit. Musk spent more than 275 million US dollars to support Trump and other Republican candidates in the 2024 elections.
