‘Utterly insane': Elon Musk reignites feud with President Donald Trump as ‘big beautiful bill' narrowly passes US Senate procedural hurdle

Sky News AU

a day ago

Elon Musk has reignited his feud with Donald Trump, branding the President's key legislation 'utterly insane and destructive' as the so-called 'big, beautiful bill' moved a step closer to becoming law.
Elon Musk has reignited his feud with Donald Trump as the President's so-called 'big, beautiful bill' narrowly passed a procedural hurdle in the United States Senate.
The 940-page megabill will head to a full debate in the upper house of the US Congress after it passed a procedural motion on a vote of 51 to 49.
Multiple Republicans had raised concerns with the bill - which combines significant tax cuts with increases in border and military spending as well as cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs - but after significant lobbying and pressure from the White House, only two Republican Senators joined their Democratic Party colleagues to vote against the bill.
Musk lashed out at the legislation on his social media platform ahead of the vote, retweeting attacks on bill – particularly its Green energy components, which he described as 'utter madness' and 'incredibly destructive to America'.
'The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!' Musk said on X.
'Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.'
In one post highlighting the unpopularity of the bill among voters, the tech billionaire said it would be 'political suicide for the Republican Party'.
The 940-page bill, which would raise the US debt ceiling by $5 trillion, has played a major role in the breakdown of relations between President Trump and Musk – who donated more than $US250 million to his election campaign and for several months led the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2025
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO was gushing in his praise of the President during a joint interview held in February, but just days after leaving his DOGE role in May Musk branded President Trump's legislation a 'disgusting abomination'.
He even claimed the US leader had declined to release files on convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein because they contained information about President Trump.
Sky News is not suggesting there is any validity in Musk's claim, which he later deleted before posting the message: 'I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump. They went too far'.
Until the latest salvos, it appeared this had led to a reprieve between the two men. Trump lauds 'great victory' in Senate, attacks Republican holdouts
President Trump also took to social media on Sunday to laud the 'great victory' in the procedural vote – despite his 'big, beautiful bill' still having multiple hurdles to pass before becoming law.
'Very proud of the Republican Party tonight. God bless you all!' he said on Truth Social.
The President heaped praise on multiple US Senators who had voted in favour of the legislation despite previously raising concerns over the bill.
'Tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate with the 'GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,' but, it wouldn't have happened without the Fantastic Work of Senator Rick Scott, Senator Mike Lee, Senator Ron Johnson, and Senator Cynthia Lummis,' he said.
'They, along with all of the other Republican Patriots who voted for the Bill, are people who truly love our Country!'
This praise was in stark contrast to his approach to the two Republican holdouts – Senator Rand Paul, a fiscal conservative from Kentucky who was swept into office during the tea party wave of 2010 and Senator Thom Tillis from North Carolina, who has raised concerns about how the cuts to healthcare would harm his state.
While President Trump called out both Senators on Truth Social, it was Senator Tillis who came in for the harsher treatment.
'Thom Tillis is making a BIG MISTAKE for America, and the Wonderful People of North Carolina!,' the President posted.
In a subsequent post, the US President indicated he would support a primary challenge against the senator.
'Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against 'Senator Thom' Tillis. I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' he said.
In defending his decision to vote against the bill, Senator Tillis said: "The Senate version of the One Big Beautiful bill contains significant changes to Medicaid that would be devastating to North Carolina, and I cannot support it'.
'The Senate should go back to the House's commonsense approach to Medicaid reform to enact work requirements while protecting care for those who truly need it.'
Senator Paul has repeatedly attacked the bill over excessive spending and its impact on national debt, and on Sunday the Kentucky senator shared Musk's tweet about attitudes to the bill, adding it was 'very clear people don't want this extreme amount of debt and reckless spending'.
In an earlier post, the US senator had highlighted an example of the spending measures he opposed.
'How about this: tweak the Big not so beautiful bill so it doesn't add so much to the debt?,' Senator Paul said.
'The legislation, as currently written, would pay someone like Elon Musk $1,000 per child, and we know how prolific he is... No offense, Elon, but is that a wise use of our $$?"