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Musk Escalates Megabill Attacks, With Trump Reportedly ‘Furious'

Musk Escalates Megabill Attacks, With Trump Reportedly ‘Furious'

Yahoo2 days ago

Elon Musk ramped up his attacks on Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill, even as the president reportedly was 'furious' at his former adviser's stunning intervention.
The gloves came off when the richest man in the world on Tuesday torched the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, calling it a 'disgusting abomination.'
On Tuesday night and into Wednesday, the Tesla boss, whose mission at the White House was to slash federal government spending, continued to post his disgust at a bill that would expand budget deficits by more than $2 trillion.
In one message on X, formerly Twitter, the billionaire appeared to set up an electoral showdown with the GOP.
'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' wrote Musk, suggesting Republican politicians should be kicked out of Congress at the midterms.
Musk was the biggest donor in the 2024 political cycle, lavishing $288 million to help elect Trump and other Republican candidates.
He recently said he was scaling back his efforts unless there's 'a reason to do political spending in the future.'
In his barrage of tweets, Musk, who left his temporary position at the White House just days ago, made repeated references to the damaging impact of the spiraling U.S. national debt.
'This immense level of overspending will drive America into debt slavery!' he said above a post of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warning in a 2024 interview that the current rate of spending is 'unsustainable.'
In another post, Musk wrote, 'Mammoth spending bills are bankrupting America! ENOUGH.'
He also responded with a '100' emoji when an X poster wrote that Musk had 'reminded everyone: It's not about Right vs Left. It's about the Establishment vs the People.'
Trump has yet to publicly comment on Musk's maneuvers.
On Tuesday night, the president said he wants his signature bill on his desk to be signed into law by the Fourth of July, yet made no reference to his former aide.
But behind the scenes, Trump reportedly is livid.
On Fox News' 'Fox & Friends' on Wednesday morning, co-host Brian Kilmeade said, 'I think the Elon Musk thing really caught the president by surprise. And I hear he is furious!'
'I think he's so smart to keep his powder dry,' Kilmeade added. 'Because it just plays into what critics would have to say, 'The right can't get out of their own way.' Instead, you have a goal: Pass it. Elon Musk is not in the Senate or the House. Don't worry about it.'
The legislation includes nearly $4 trillion in tax cuts, mostly benefiting wealthy households. The cost is only partially offset by more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and federal food benefits.
The House passed the legislation last month, and the Senate is working on its own version of the bill.
Two Republican senators, Mike Lee (Utah) and Rand Paul (Ky.), signaled their agreement with Musk, who in turn shared posts from Republicans in Congress who publicly aligned with him.
Elon Musk Takes A Chainsaw To The GOP's False Deficit Claims
Elon Musk Unloads On Republicans' 'Disgusting Abomination' Big Beautiful Bill
Republicans Big Mad At Elon Musk For Telling The Truth About 'Big, Beautiful Bill'

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The spectacular end of Elon Musk and Donald Trump's bromance
The spectacular end of Elon Musk and Donald Trump's bromance

Yahoo

time14 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

The spectacular end of Elon Musk and Donald Trump's bromance

During a press conference in the Oval Office last week, President Trump praised Elon Musk, his adviser and the outgoing head of the president's Department of Government Efficiency, for waging war on the federal workforce. 'Elon has worked tirelessly to lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations,' Trump said alongside Musk, who wore a black DOGE hat and 'DOGEfather' T-shirt while standing next to the president. For nearly an hour, Trump heaped effusive praise on the billionaire Tesla chief executive, SpaceX founder and owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, whose stint as a special government employee had come to an end. 'Elon's really not leaving,' the president added. 'He's gonna be back and forth I think.' What a difference a week makes. Trump and Musk's unlikely bromance unraveled in spectacular fashion on Thursday, with the president telling reporters in the Oval Office that he was 'very disappointed' with Musk's criticism of his 'one big beautiful' spending bill, and Musk railing at Trump in real time on X. "I'm very disappointed in Elon," Trump said before a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "I've helped Elon a lot." The president suggested that Musk, like many others before him, had become 'hostile' upon leaving his administration. "I'll be honest, I think he misses the place," Trump said. 'People leave my administration, and they love us, and then at some point they miss it so badly, and some of them embrace it, and some of them actually become hostile." "They leave, and they wake up in the morning, and the glamour is gone," the president added. "The whole world is different, and they become hostile. I don't know what it is." Trump also suggested that Musk was upset that the Republican-backed reconciliation bill did not include an electric vehicle mandate, which would have benefited EV manufacturers, including Tesla. 'He knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem and he only developed the problem when he found out we were going to cut the EV mandate." "False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!" Musk wrote on X. 'Whatever,' Musk continued. 'Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.' 'In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that [is] both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!' Musk added. 'Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.' Musk, who was one of Trump's most fervent and visible supporters during the 2024 campaign, wasn't done. "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. "Such ingratitude." Trump wasn't done either. 'Elon was 'wearing thin,'' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!" 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' Trump added. 'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Musk tried to get the last word in, suggesting Trump's name is in unreleased FBI files on Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender. "Time to drop the really big bomb," Musk wrote. "@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!" "Mark this post for the future," Musk added moments later. "The truth will come out." On Thursday night, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that 'this is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' because it does not include the policies he wanted." She added "The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.' The split capped a longtime partnership for the pair, with Musk stumping for Trump on the campaign trail, and the president, after installing Musk as the head of DOGE, boosting Tesla amid criticism of Musk with an unusual event at the White House. ("Trump turns the White House lawn into a Tesla showroom," NBC News proclaimed.) But in the last few months, there had been reports that Trump was privately growing tired of Musk. On May 27, three days before Musk's farewell press conference in the Oval Office, CBS aired a clip that showed him expressing disappointment that Trump's signature spending bill would undermine his DOGE work. Then on Tuesday, Musk went full blast on the spending package. "I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," he wrote on X. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it." "Call your Senator, Call your Congressman," Musk wrote on Wednesday. "Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL." That brought us to Thursday, when Trump was asked about Musk's attacks during his Oval Office meeting with Merz. "Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump told reporters. "I don't know if we will anymore." In a phone interview with CNN on Friday morning, Trump said he was "not even thinking about" Musk and would not be speaking with him anytime soon. 'I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem,' Trump said, adding: "I won't be speaking to him for a while I guess, but I wish him well.'

Power bills in California have jumped nearly 50% in four years. Democrats think they have solutions
Power bills in California have jumped nearly 50% in four years. Democrats think they have solutions

The Hill

time16 minutes ago

  • The Hill

Power bills in California have jumped nearly 50% in four years. Democrats think they have solutions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers this week advanced several efforts aimed at reining in utility profits and slashing electricity bills as part of their agenda to tackle the sky-high costs of living. The proposals would make sweeping changes to how utilities fund expensive infrastructure projects like putting power lines underground to guard against wildfires. They also would add more oversight around wildfire mitigation spending and put new requirements on utility requests to increase rates. Supporters said the goal is to make the big investor-owned utilities start sharing some of the costs to fight wildfires and build new transmission infrastructure. 'This is not a set of modest tweaks that will make minor improvements at the edges of a problem without offending anyone,' said Democratic State Sen. Josh Becker, the bill's author. 'This is a big deal.' One of the bills is part of the state Senate's package to address affordability amid growing concern about the high costs of everything from gas to groceries. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order last year urging lawmakers to do something to address skyrocketing electricity rates, which rose 47% on average for residential customers between 2019 and 2023, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office. But Republicans, who are in the minority in both chambers, say Democrats are not meaningfully addressing high prices. They did not support the energy reform bills, saying it wouldn't lower costs, and they unsuccessfully tried to force a vote on a proposal to limit utilities from raising power rates above the rate of inflation. Utility rate increases in recent years have been approved by state regulators in part to help investor-owned utilities bury power lines aimed at stopping wildfires. Some of the deadliest and most destructive fires in recent years have been sparked by power equipment. Pacific Gas & Electric, whose equipment sparked a 2018 wildfire that killed 85 people in 2024, raised its rates six times to help cover the costs of putting power lines underground and other improvement projects. While one in every five ratepayers can't pay their power bills, utilities like PG&E raked in record-breaking profits last year, according to The Utility Reform Network, a ratepayer advocacy group. The group supports Becker's measure and has sponsored a similar effort in the Assembly. 'There are no limits to how much the utilities can ask for in rate increases. There are no limits to how many times a year they can ask,' said Mark Toney, the group's executive director. 'You can't blame them for asking for the sky.' Under Becker's proposal, utilities would be required to use public financing to fund the first $15 billion spent on capital investment projects. The option would allow utilities to access funding with lower interest rates, and utilities also would be prohibited from collecting a return on that investment for shareholders. That would save customers $8.8 billion over the next 10 years, Becker said. The bill would also set up a state-backed fund to reimburse utilities for wildfire projects, among other things. But the state may not have money to pay for that this year. The bill would also increase oversight of utility budgets and their wildfire spending. Utilities would have to include at least one rate increase proposal that doesn't exceed the rate of inflation in their requests. The proposal also calls for $60 billion worth of credits to apply on bills over the years during the summer months when usage is often at its peak. Senate Democrats overwhelmingly advanced Becker's measure this week. But Republicans, utilities and the California Chamber of Commerce said it would only drive up more costs. The legislation 'moves today's utility costs around without eliminating them,' the chamber said in a letter in opposition. New regulations around rate increase and shareholder returns also could halt utilities' investment in preventing wildfires or enhancing the grid, the letter said. Republican State senators said rising power bills are caused by Democrats' policies and push for more electric vehicles and less reliance on fossil fuels. In the Assembly, meanwhile, Republicans have called for permitting reforms to make it faster and cheaper to build better utility infrastructure. 'The regulation regime that we have in this state is oppressive and definitely drives prices,' said Sen. Roger Niello, a Republican. 'Your package of affordability is rather modest in number, but it is even more modest in its potential impact.' Lawmakers also advanced a slew of other measures aiming to provide relief to ratepayers, including one that would prohibit utilities from using rates to pay for lobbying efforts and one that would allow California to join a regional energy market with other Western states to help increase grid reliability.

What does the Trump-Musk feud mean for Tesla stock? Experts weigh in.

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A feud between President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk hammered shares of the electric carmaker on Thursday, before a lull in the acrimony on Friday prompted a recovery of some losses. Still, as of midday Friday, shares had dropped nearly 10%, wiping out tens of billions of dollars in company value. The falling out between Trump and Musk raises serious concern for Tesla, threatening crucial regulatory approvals and government subsidies, while risking ire from conservative car buyers who may otherwise have eased sales woes suffered as liberals turned elsewhere, some industry analysts told ABC News. The outcome remains unclear, however, leaving open the possibility the two sides may patch up the relationship or Tesla could navigate fraught ties with the White House, they added. The feud 'puts massive pressure on Tesla shares with fears that Trump will turn from friend to foe and create a tough regulatory environment for Musk in the Beltway,' Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush and a longtime Tesla bull, said in a memo to clients on Friday. The president and the world's richest person volleyed tit-for-tat barbs on rival social media platforms Thursday in a public clash that Ives described as 'one of the strangest Twilight Zone days we have seen.' Tesla shares sank as much as 18% on Thursday, before closing down 14%. In early trading on Friday, Tesla climbed nearly 6% as tensions appeared to thaw. Overall, the stock is down nearly a third from an all-time high in December, which resulted from a sharp rise after the election of Trump. Tesla remains a top electric carmaker but the company faces growing competition, especially from Chinese firms such as BYD. Tesla's profits fell 71% over the first three months of this year, a company earnings release in April showed. The decline coincided with a sales slump at Tesla and came amid worldwide protests against Musk over his role in Trump's administration. As car sales slowed, Musk touted a future autonomous car service, dubbed robotaxis, as a growth area for the business. The company plans to roll out its robotaxi test program in Austin, Texas, later this month. Trump could threaten those aspirations, however, if he pressures federal regulators to deny necessary approvals for the company's autonomous driving program or renews investigations into the safety of the company's full self-driving software, analysts said. 'If full self-driving were to be invalidated, that would be a huge hit to Tesla stock and to Musk,' Gordon Johnson, CEO and founder of data firm GLJ Research, who is bearish on Tesla, told ABC News. Tesla also generates significant revenue from the sale of carbon emissions credits to other car manufacturers, which helps the firms comply with environmental standards set by a range of government entities. Tesla earned nearly $2.8 billion last year on the collection of such government subsidies while incurring few costs in this area of its business, the firm said in its 2024 annual report. In theory, Trump could seek to erode state-level emissions standards in a manner that alleviates much of the need for rival carmakers to purchase them. If California were to do away with its emissions credit system, it could cost Tesla roughly $2 billion, a JPMorgan report last month found. 'I can't stress enough the risk of these credits going away,' Johnson said. For now, the outcome of the fallout remains unknown and could prove minimal, some analysts told ABC News. They pointed to the likelihood of at least partial reconciliation between Trump and Musk, who as recently as last week exchanged effusive praise in the Oval Office. All-out government attacks on Tesla would incite a prolonged, combative relationship, analysts said, which may not benefit either side. The company still offers longstanding, affordable EV models and an extensive battery-charging network. Observers who focus on the headlines and stock gyrations risk overstating Trump's role in the fortunes of Tesla anyway, Seth Goldstein, an analyst at research firm Morningstar who studies the EV sector, told ABC News. 'While political fallout and potential retribution will move the stock, I don't think this is as big an event as Tesla's other events coming up this year,' Goldstein said, pointing to the robotaxi testing. Ives, of Wedbush, voiced similar optimism about the possibility of moving past the feud. 'We believe cooler heads will prevail today and into the weekend,' Ives said. 'Hopefully.'

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