Elon Musk says latest version of Trump’s budget bill is ‘utterly insane’ and will destroy clean energy sector – News

Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has slammed the latest version of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, calling it “utterly insane and destructive.”

In a post on his social media platform X, Musk lambasted lawmakers, saying the Senate’s new draft bill would eliminate millions of jobs in the U.S. and cause “immense strategic harm” to the country. He added that the bill will result in “outdated industries” receiving millions of dollars in subsidies, while “severely damaging” future industries.

The SpaceX Corp. and Tesla Inc. founder’s criticism could reignite a public feud with Trump, which kicked off last month after he quit the White House’s federal cost-slashing team, known as the Department of Government Efficiency.

The latest draft of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which needs the backing of both the Senate and Congress to come into law, will reduce financial support for clean energy projects that tap into wind and solar power, as well as electric vehicle tax credits, while providing incentives for the coal industry.

Musk has criticized earlier forms of the bill. In December, he complained bitterly about the government’s spending plans, leading many Republicans to withdraw support for it, almost causing a government shutdown.

The billionaire Musk had more influence back then as he was still seen as one of Trump’s closest allies, having been the biggest donor of his reelection campaign. But nowadays, it’s thought that he has a lot less sway after stepping down from DOGE and clashing with Trump over an earlier version of the bill, which was passed by Congress in May. Musk made headlines with his criticism, labeling the bill a “disgusting abomination” and saying it would lead to a surge in the federal deficit.

However, a number of fiscally conservative Republicans in the Senate appeared to support Musk’s latest posts, which might make it tricky for the bill to pass when it goes up for vote in that chamber, possibly as soon as Saturday.

In a flurry of posts on X, Musk reeled off a laundry list of complaints he has about the bill, saying in one that Trump is making a “massive strategic error” that will damage the solar and battery industries and “leave American extremely vulnerable in the future.” He also retweeted polls that indicate how unpopular the bill is amongst U.S. voters:

Of particular concern to Musk is that the bill will end tax credits that incentivize the purchase of new electric cars after Sept. 30. At the same time, the tax credits for purchasing used and commercial electric vehicles will also expire.

According to Reuters, the bill will also impose a new tax on wind and solar projects completed after Dec. 31, 2027, if they cannot show they have not used any Chinese components. It also offers tax breaks for companies involved in coal production. Additionally, the legislation accelerates the phasing out of clean energy manufacturing tax credits that have previously attracted billions of dollars in investment, especially in Republican states.

Musk was joined by a number of clean energy proponents and environmental groups in decrying the revised bill, which argue that it will ultimately raise household energy costs and deprive the country of new, fast energy capacity, which could be vital as more power-hungry artificial intelligence data centers come online.

However, Trump justified the end of tax credits for clean energy initiatives, saying that they no longer need government support. He was supported by Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, who said that “if repealing these subsidies will ‘kill’ their industry, maybe it shouldn’t exist in the first place.”

Musk has threatened to finance primary challengers to Republican supporters of the bill. Earlier, there has been talk of a possible reconciliation between Trump and the world’s richest man, but White House officials said today that the president has no plans to speak with him anytime soon.

Image: tldv.io