Elon Musk's step away from politics didn't last too long

Business Insider

a day ago

When Elon Musk said he'd step back from the White House DOGE office and spend more time on his companies, namely Tesla, investors and fans collectively rejoiced at the thought of getting their chief executive back.
Tesla bull Dan Ives said the move was "music to the ears of Tesla shareholders," while some of the company's biggest fans on X, like Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, said Musk was activating "wartime" mode.
However, with Musk's latest crusade against President Donald Trump's spending bill, the CEO is still getting political.
On Tuesday afternoon, a mere five days after fanfare in the Oval Office to mark his departure from government, Musk posted on X that he "can't stand it anymore."
"This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination," he wrote on X.
Since then, Musk has been posting, re-posting, and replying on his social media platform throughout Tuesday and Wednesday against the"Big Beautiful Bill," which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, and — perhaps further motivating his ire — contains cuts to EV tax credits.
Musk was posting early in the morning, Eastern Time,airing his frustrations against the bill (though it's unclear what timezone Musk was posting from): "This immense level of overspending will drive America into debt slavery!"
On Wednesday afternoon, Musk urged his more than 220.2 million X followers to call their senators and congressmen and demand that they "KILL the BILL."
Several senators, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who were at the White House Wednesday to discuss the bill, were asked by reporters about Musk's objections. "We're a long ways down the track…," Thune said, according to pool reporters. "We are moving forward."
Musk and spokespeople for Tesla and Speaker Mike Johnson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk's money and media blitz
It was just less than two weeks ago when Musk said on X that he'd be winding down his work with the White House DOGE office. The announcement was followed by a media blitz that week, during which he admitted that he probably spent too much time on politics.
Tesla investors and Wall Street liked what they heard.
On May 28, Tesla shares were up 7%, marking a 64% rally since its April slump, when the stock was trading at an all-time low for the year at $227.50. Tesla was trading at $332.05 before Wednesday's closing.
His latest assault on the bill, however, brings into question how long his hiatus in politics will really last — or if it will come at all.
His Wednesday call-to-action to his millions of followers was just one of the warning shots to lawmakers. The day before, Musk said on X: "In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people."
During Trump's 2024 reelection campaign, Musk made clear how much he'd put on the line to push for the causes he supports. By the end of 2024, Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars backing the president's campaign.
The CEO said in an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum on May 20 that he was done spending on politics, at least for now.
"If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it," he said. "I do not currently see a reason."
Outside of his massive spending, Musk in Decemberleveraged his influence on his own platform to derail a stopgap measure that would have averted a government shutdown that same month.
"Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?" Musk said in an X post at the time.
Meanwhile, Speaker Johnson said in a Wednesday press conference that all remains "friendly" between him and the CEO. The speaker said he hopes to have more conversations with Musk.
"I called Elon last night and he didn't answer," Johnson said. "But I hope to talk to him today."