Elon Musk has slammed the tax-spending-cutting bill backed by United States President Donald Trump, calling it a “disgusting abomination".
The tech billionaire worked with the government for 129 days with his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) team before stepping down last week.
The bill Musk criticises, which includes multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks and increased defence spending, allowing the U.S. government to borrow more money, was passed by the House of Representatives in May.
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” he said on X.
“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
This is Musk’s first disagreement with Trump since leaving the administration. However, he has expressed scepticism of the bill in the past.
The Tesla owners' time with the Trump administration ended on 31 May, but Trump said “he will, always, be with us, healing all the way”.
The bill, which Trump refers to as the “big beautiful bill”, is estimated to increase the budget deficit by around US$600 in the next fiscal year, which Musk has slammed.
“It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America's citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt,” he said.
On top of increasing the deficit and extending soon-to-expire tax cuts passed in the first Trump administration in 2017, it proposes lifting the debt ceiling, referring to how music the government can borrow up to $4 trillion.
The White House shrugged off Musk’s criticism, doubling down by saying Musk’s claim that it will increase deficits is "blatantly wrong."
“Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Tuesday when asked about the initial post.
“It doesn’t change the President’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
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