Elon Musk has claimed that without him Donald Trump would have lost the election, as the relationship between the two men continues to sour.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” Musk wrote on X. “Such ingratitude,” he added in a separate post.
His comments came minutes after Trump was asked about Musk’s recent comments against the spending bill working its way through Congress.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he would have won the state of Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state in the election, “regardless” of the support from Musk. “I’m very disappointed,” he said. “Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than anyone… and he only developed a problem when he found out I would cut the EV (electric vehicle) mandate… And it really is unfair.”
The latest barbs come after Musk’s departure as a special advisor to the government, as part of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Since leaving the role he has criticized Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” as a “disgusting abomination.”
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore, this massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,” he wrote on X.
The comments reportedly caught White House advisors “off guard” and left the president “confused.”
Musk’s opposition stems from the bill’s cut to an electric vehicle tax credit, impacting Tesla customers, and Trump’s decision to scrap Jared Isaacman’s NASA nomination. The tech billionaire said that his decision to step back from his work with DOGE was, in part, so that he could refocus his efforts on his EV company.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Musk’s opinion didn’t change the President’s stance on the bill, while Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and other fiscally conservatives have supported Musk’s concerns about the bill adding trillions to the national debt.
According to Axios, the main reason why Musk came out so forcefully against the measure is that he was “frustrated at failing to win favorable treatment in the bill and the administration at large.”
“Elon was butthurt,” a source told the outlet.
