Trump responded by suggesting he could look into deporting Musk back to South Africa and tear up the electric vehicle subsidies.
โElon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE,โ Trump spat out on Truth Social.
Forbes has estimated that Muskโs companies have been fed at least $US30 billion ($46 billion) of public support since 2010, including lucrative rocket launch and satellite contracts for SpaceX, a low-cost federal loan for Teslaโs first factory and billions of dollars of free money it generates selling federal and California pollution credits.
Sure, this tit-for-tat skirmish looks like two lunatics shooting from the hip โ but they have the capacity to inflict plenty of collateral damage, too.
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Even Muskโs immense wealth is unlikely to be enough to successfully make good on a threat to create his own US political party โ the America Party. But he also vowed to target politicians who supported Trumpโs Big Beautiful Bill in future elections.
If we are to take Muskโs comments at face value, his beef with Trump is over $US3.3 trillion damage that would be inflicted on the US budget by the billโs tax slashing and increased defence spending.
Musk says it negates the budget cuts he achieved during his time running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump is now musing about the possibility of having DOGE attack its creator.
โDOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldnโt that be terrible?โ Trump asked reporters on Tuesday.
The president, who is missing a self-regulating off-switch, has ample opportunity to financially punish Musk.
And to the chagrin of Teslaโs shareholders, Musk is also lacking a control mechanism. Teslaโs directors have a long history of letting him operate without a leash.
The board has been fighting a Delaware court decision that voided Muskโs 2018 compensation package, valued at over $US50 billion.
Its chair Robyn Denholm vehemently denied reports earlier this year that the carmaker had engaged headhunters to find a new chief executive for Tesla as Musk was spending too much time as Trumpโs First Buddy and cost-cutter in chief and too little leading the company.
Musk is ready to score big on more own-goals in this big ego mud fight.
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