Elon Musk, tech billionaire and former DOGE executive, used his 54th birthday to post a scathing critique of the latest version of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” warning that it would cost countless American jobs and jeopardize the country’s strategic interests. His comments were posted to X on Sunday.
“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country! Utterly insane and destructive,” Musk wrote.
This latest criticism follows an earlier falling-out between Musk and Trump over the spending package. Earlier in June, Musk slammed the initial version of the bill, calling it bloated and reckless.
He didn’t hold back at the time, writing on June 3, “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill [that] is a disgusting abomination.” He added, “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
Senate Republicans released the updated bill Friday evening, with the goal of delivering it to the president’s desk by July 4. The revision was introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.
The latest draft includes a variety of contentious revisions: changes to Medicaid provider taxes, limitations on cost-sharing for food assistance programs, new caps on state and local tax deductions, and a significant rollback of federal support for wind and solar energy initiatives.
Under the new guidelines, only clean energy projects that begin construction before 2028 will qualify for full tax credits, while future projects will be subjected to additional taxes.
Reacting specifically to the renewable energy cuts, Musk accused lawmakers of clinging to outdated industries at the expense of innovation. “Handouts to the past, destruction of the future,” he said in the same post.
His concerns were echoed by the American Clean Power Association (ACP), which warned that the proposed tax changes could cripple the U.S. clean energy sector and lead to higher energy costs for consumers.
“With no warning, the Senate has proposed new language that would increase taxes on domestic energy production,” ACP CEO Jason Grumet wrote. “In what can only be described as ‘midnight dumping,’ the Senate has proposed a punitive tax hike targeting the fastest-growing sectors of our energy industry.”
Grumet went on to caution that these tax measures would “strand hundreds of billions of dollars in current investments, threaten energy security, undermine growth in domestic manufacturing and land hardest on rural communities who would have been the greatest beneficiaries of clean energy investment.”
He urged lawmakers to take a step back and reconsider. “We understand the Senate’s desire to meet the President’s July 4th deadline, but the stakes here are very high,” Grumet stated. “We urge Senate leadership to strike these last-minute tax increases and to take the time to responsibly analyze the impacts of this new tax regime on American businesses and communities.”
Meanwhile, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., vowed on X that she would help block the bill’s swift passage by forcing a marathon reading session of the nearly 1,000-page text.
“Democrats need to use every second to fight back against the Big Beautiful Bill,” Warren posted.
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