Washington: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that without government subsidies, US entrepreneur Elon Musk would be forced to "close up shop and head back home to South Africa," responding to ongoing criticism from Musk regarding the administration's spending and tax policies.
"Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon 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," Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump further suggested that ending support for rocket launches, satellites and electric car production would save the United States "a fortune." He further suggested that the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), previously headed by Musk, "take a good, hard, look at this?"
The lower house of the US Congress in May advanced Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," which cuts federal spending but simultaneously provides serious tax breaks. As a result, according to the Congressional Budget Office, both the budget deficit and the national debt will grow.
Musk has repeatedly criticized Trump's bill on social media. He said, in particular, that the bill would drive the US's budget deficit up to $2.5 trillion and push American citizens into debt.
According to analysts, the United States may be on the verge of default by August if Republicans and Democrats in Congress do not agree on raising the debt ceiling. The issue of raising the borrowing limit has often been used in political disputes within Congress between the two US parties in recent years.