"Trump&Musk" is about to clash again? After the "Big Beautiful" bill passed, Musk's first comment on social media: Liked the critics
A post by Republican Senator Paul, which received a thumbs up from Musk, stated that the bill would lead to a surge in deficits in the short term, which is a common tactic in Washington: short-term political manipulation outweighs long-term sustainability. Last month, Trump called Paul, who criticized the bill, "crazy," claiming he knows nothing about the bill that could bring "huge growth" and only likes to vote against it, without any practical ideas
Despite the fact that the large-scale tax cuts and spending bill promoted by U.S. President Trump—the "Big Beautiful" bill—has become a done deal in legislation, Tesla CEO Musk continues to oppose the bill, raising the risk of the next round of "Trump&Musk" infighting.
On July 4th, Friday, Eastern Time, Musk liked a post by Republican Senator Rand Paul criticizing the "Big Beautiful" bill on his social media platform X. He retweeted Paul's post with the symbol 100%. Paul's post stated:
"The 'Big but Not Beautiful Bill' has officially passed both the House and Senate. While it includes some conservative provisions, the bill will lead to a surge in deficits in the short term. This is the usual trick in Washington: short-term political manipulation outweighs long-term sustainability."
Media reports indicate that Musk has been criticizing the "Big Beautiful" bill, Trump's signature government spending bill, for several weeks, and this is the first time he has commented on the bill on social media since it was passed by the House.
The version of the "Big Beautiful" bill that passed the House on Thursday was the Senate's amended version. Wallstreetcn mentioned that this final version raises the statutory debt ceiling of the U.S. federal government by $5 trillion, exceeding the $4 trillion increase in the previous House version. Moreover, the previous House version extended the tax cuts introduced during Trump's term in 2017 from 2025 to 2029, while this final version makes these tax cuts permanent.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the final "Big Beautiful" bill could increase the U.S. government's budget deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next decade. In the following decade, the U.S. government's debt could increase by $3.4 trillion, reaching $36.2 trillion.
Trump Criticized Paul Last Month
In fact, Paul, whom Musk liked this week, was publicly criticized by Trump a month ago for his criticism of the bill. Paul stated in a media program in early June that he "absolutely does not want to support the Senate version of the bill, which currently includes a $5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling."
Trump immediately posted on social media that Paul "knows almost nothing about the budget plan that the President calls the 'Big Beautiful Bill'," and that he does not understand that the bill will stimulate "huge growth" in the economy. "He likes to vote against everything, thinking it's good politics, but that's not the case."
In another post, Trump stated that Paul "has never had any practical or constructive ideas," and called his ideas "crazy (garbage!)", adding that the people of Kentucky who elected him to the Senate cannot stand him because this is a bill that brings "huge growth."
The "Big Beautiful" Bill Will Hit Tesla's Carbon Revenue and Various Businesses Hard
In addition to the expected surge in government debt, the "Big Beautiful" Act will also severely impact Tesla's "carbon sales revenue," as the act abolishes key rules for carbon emissions credit trading and sets fines for the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to zero, effectively eliminating the incentive for traditional automakers to purchase Tesla's carbon credits.
Last year, Tesla's carbon credit revenue reached $2.8 billion, accounting for 39% of its net profit, with about three-quarters of the carbon credit revenue coming from the U.S. market. In the first quarter of this year, without the $409 million in carbon credit revenue, Tesla would have reported a loss.
In addition to carbon credits, Tesla's other businesses are also affected by the "Big Beautiful" Act, including battery manufacturing, the Supercharger network, and solar roofs, all of which will lose significant federal support or tax breaks. A former Tesla executive stated that Elon Musk has finally realized this, but it is too late.
Last month, when Trump and Musk were at odds, Trump said Musk's dissatisfaction with the "Big Beautiful" Act was because it canceled the so-called electric vehicle mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars, which made Musk "crazy." Trump also threatened to terminate the government subsidies and contracts received by Musk's companies