Musk Lashes Out After Bannon Calls to Deport Him Amid Trump Fight

“Elon’s upset because we took the E.V. mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles, and you know they’re having a hard time, the electric vehicles. And they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Elon knew this from the beginning, he knew it for a long time ago, that’s been.… I would say, JD, that hasn’t changed,” he said, as Vice President Vance voiced his agreement.

“Whatever. Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,” Musk replied rather bitterly on X, the platform he owns. “In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that[’s] both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this! Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.”

This is the most recent installment in a somewhat surprising spat, as Musk has spent months hailing Trump and his agenda as he carried out his slash-and-burn work as DOGE head. Now, right as Musk makes his exit from the administration, he has fallen on the side of the deficit hawks, the few true fiscal conservatives left in the Senate. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit.