When DOGE bites a guy, Elon Musk might learn the consequences.
After renewing the dispute that resulted in their very public and emotional split last month, the billionaire owner of SpaceX, Tesla, and X, who propelled his fervent support of President Donald Trump into a strong position by cutting government expenditure, now faces the possibility of drastic cuts to his own bottom line.
Musk has resumed his teasing of Trump’s massive tax breaks and expenditure cuts plan, which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday. If Trump retaliates, Musk’s government contracts worth billions of dollars might be at risk. The president has considered deporting Musk to his home country of South Africa as a result of the breakup of their shaky truce, which has caused the stock price of a market-moving firm to sway.
In a twist reminiscent of Frankenstein, Trump considered reversing the direction of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency on Tuesday as Musk responded to new criticism on the expense of his hallmark legislation.
As he left the White House to inspect a new immigration detention facility in Florida, Trump told reporters that DOGE is the monster that could have to return and devour Elon.
In an early-morning social media tweet, Trump also said that Musk would most likely have to shut down and return to South Africa if he lost his government contracts.
Trump paused and responded, “I don’t know,” when a reporter later asked him if he would deport Musk. We’ll need to examine it.
Musk replied, “So tempted to escalate this,” on X. So very alluring. But for now, I’ll hold back. Messages asking for comments regarding their CEO were not answered by SpaceX or Tesla.
The large bill split
Musk has referred to Trump’s massive package as a financial disaster for America that will stifle emerging companies and eliminate employment. He isn’t restricting himself to critical remarks on social media. He threatened to reenter politics on Monday and attempt to remove all members of Congress who support the bill.
In one article, Musk stated, “If it is the last thing I do on this Earth, they will lose their primary next year.”
In previous posts, he vowed to start a new political party and called Republicans the Porky Pig Party.
According to Trump, Musk is really annoyed by the legislation’s significant revocation of the green energy tax advantages for electric cars and other technologies that were in place during the Biden administration. Although Musk has disputed this, Tesla’s finances may suffer as a result of the rollback.
Trump stated in a post on his Truth Social social network that Elon might receive far more subsidies than any other person in history and that without them, Elon would most likely have to shut down his business and return to South Africa.
In 2002, Musk obtained U.S. citizenship, according to Walter Isaacson’s biography. It’s uncertain if Trump would go to the extreme lengths of asking the government to look into the uncommon procedure of denaturalization, which would remove his citizenship.
Musk has a lot at stake in the feud.
Trump is also targeting Musk’s rocket and satellite business, SpaceX.
Trump said in his tweet that if there were no more rocket launches, satellites, or electric car production, our nation would save a fortune. A LOT OF MONEY WILL BE SAVED!
NASA has awarded SpaceX billions of taxpayer cash to assist in launching astronauts into space and to carry out other tasks for the agency, including a contract to send a team to the moon next year.
However, the most direct result of their dispute was Tesla’s stock plummeting, which fell 5.3% on Tuesday.
Millions of Americans have put their retirement funds in stock market index funds, and the performance of Tesla stock can have a significant impact on these funds. The manufacturer of electric vehicles is one of the Magnificent Seven, a group of businesses that make up over one-third of the S&P 500’s worth and include Apple and Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Musk’s tirades on social media coincide with a vulnerable moment for his automaker. Only one week has passed since Tesla launched its self-driving robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. If Musk wants to fulfill his pledge to investors that he will be able to swiftly roll out the service in other cities in the coming months, he needs that test to be successful.
Federal safety officials are one potential obstacle to that.
After recordings of several of Tesla’s autonomous taxis in Austin driving strangely, including one that was traveling down the wrong lane, started making the rounds on social media last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked the company for details.
Following a probe last year into 2.4 million Teslas with fully autonomous software following multiple incidents, including one that claimed a pedestrian’s life, the NHTSA last month requested information on how the driverless taxis would function in low-visibility situations.
Since Tesla’s primary business of selling automobiles is struggling, Musk needs robotaxis to succeed.
Fresh fallout from the argument
Musk has admitted that sales have suffered as a result of boycotts by individuals who disagree with his political beliefs, but he has mostly placed the blame on a less alarming, transient factor: People are so eager for Tesla’s upcoming latest model of the Model Y SUV that they have chosen to postpone purchases for a few months.
However, sales are still crashing even after the updated version was released. According to data released this week, European sales fell 28% in May compared to the same month last year, marking the fifth consecutive month of significant declines. On Wednesday, a fresh set of sales data will be released, including data from the United States and other countries.
Ironically, Musk’s businesses are under threat from both sides of his feud with Trump on social media. Due to the recollection of his association with Trump, people will not purchase his automobiles, and his other enterprises may suffer as a result of the strained relationship.
He’s alienated both sides in a bizzarro universe, according to financial expert Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. Despite the fact that it seems impossible, he has succeeded.
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Chapman and Condon were in New York.
