Elon Musk has publicly distanced himself from President Donald Trump’s new economic package, criticizing the bill as fiscally reckless and damaging to his government reform efforts.
Speaking in multiple interviews, including with CBS Sunday Morning and The Washington Post, Musk said the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” backed by Trump and recently passed in the House, would add $3.8 trillion to the national deficit.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill,” Musk said. “It increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
DOGE, short for the Department of Government Efficiency, was launched early in Trump’s second term with Musk at the helm. It aimed to slash federal spending and eliminate waste. Musk claims DOGE saved $160 billion by shutting down 11 agencies and laying off about 250,000 federal workers.
But the new spending package undercuts those savings. It expands tax cuts, raises military and border security spending, and adds work requirements for Medicaid—moves Musk says contradict the fiscal discipline DOGE was built to enforce.
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it can be both.”
The fallout marks a sharp shift in a relationship once considered politically close. Musk was a visible figure in Trump’s early months, briefing the president, attending cabinet meetings, and pushing for aggressive cost-cutting across federal departments. Critics say his presence destabilized Washington. Musk says his team was unfairly targeted.
“DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,” he said. “Something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.”
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The political backlash hit Musk’s businesses. Tesla stock tumbled, violent protests targeted his showrooms, and lawsuits mounted. Musk now admits he overcommitted to politics.
“It was just relative time allocation that probably was a little too high on the government side,” he told Ars Technica. “I’ve reduced that significantly in recent weeks.”
He now says he’s stepping away from politics to refocus on SpaceX and Tesla. Asked about his future in government, Musk didn’t rule it out but said his priority is now Mars.
“Mars is life insurance for life collectively,” he said. “Everything comes together at the moment of launch.”
Despite the tension, Trump has insisted there is no bad blood. He thanked Musk for his service and said the billionaire is “welcome to stay as long as you want.”
Still, Musk’s decision to step back comes amid signs he may also reduce political funding. He previously pledged $100 million to pro-Trump groups but recently said he’ll spend “a lot less” on politics going forward.
DOGE, meanwhile, will continue operating, with Musk’s staff embedded across federal agencies for the foreseeable future.
This article is based entirely on information reported by the multiple reputable news sources as cited. No opinions, interpretations, or unverified claims have been added. Our writers carefully researched these sources to deliver an accurate and factual report.
