Musk Throws Shade at Trump’s ’Big, Beautiful’ Policy—Tech Titan Unimpressed

Elon Musk—never one to mince words—just dumped cold water on former President Trump’s latest legislative push. No verbose corporate speak, no diplomatic hedging. Just a billionaire’s blunt disappointment.

While DC spins its wheels on legacy politics, Silicon Valley’s disruption engine keeps humming. Maybe someone should build a blockchain-based governance system—at least the inefficiencies would be transparent.

Another day, another clash of egos between tech and political royalty. Meanwhile, the rest of us just watch our portfolios bounce like a meme stock.

Elon Musk’s thoughts on the bill

Elon Musk has heard about Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill and is reportedly “disappointed” enough to offer his most direct criticism of a signature Trump White House policy. The Tesla CEO recently stepped back from his role as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

In an interview excerpt released by CBS on Tuesday night, Musk said: “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it.” The billionaire also added that the expansive budget bill also “undermines the work that the Doge team is doing.”

The billionaire thinks “a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both,” but clarified that it was just his “personal opinion.”

Given his alliance with Trump, not many saw the dissenting opinion coming. However, Musk’s comments have become the most public criticism of a piece of legislation championed by Trump, and many are curious to see how the president will react.

The “big beautiful bill” Musk is so unhappy about will add around $3.3 trillion to the US federal debt over the next decade. That value could rise by an extra $5.2 trillion if lawmakers “ultimately extend temporary provisions, according to an estimate published by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Many are well aware of the repercussions; perhaps that is why the controversial bill barely cleared a House vote last week. In fact, it may not have cleared the vote if Trump had not personally stepped in to warn the GOP’s conservative fiscal hawks against messing with his signature agenda.

The bill ultimately passed with 215-214 votes, with all Democrats and two Republicans voting against it, and has now moved to the Senate.

Musk says he has done enough for Trump

Trump may not have won the election last year without the momentum from his Musk coalition and a strong voter movement on X. The team was so effective that many did not see an end in sight. However, Musk seems to be steadily growing weary of funneling money and perhaps energy into the muddy waters of politics.

Already, he has taken a step back from leading DOGE. While addressing the Qatar Economic Forum last week, the billionaire said he WOULD significantly cut back on his political donations.

He said he was “going to do a lot less in the future,” and when pushed for why, his answer was simple but impactful: “I think I’ve done enough.”

The tech mogul reportedly spent more than $200 million to support Trump since the presidential election last year. Now that he does not have his hands full with DOGE anymore, the Tesla CEO has revealed plans to dedicate more of his time to running his company and making sure his X platform stops crashing so often.

So, is this the end of the bromance between Trump and Musk? Only time can tell. However, it does seem like there is trouble in paradise.

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