Elon Musk blasted President Trump‘s legacy legislation Tuesday, casting it as a bloated mess. But two sources who have spoken to Musk say he was frustrated at failing to win favorable treatment in the bill and the administration at large.
Why it matters: Musk’s post on X calling Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” a “disgusting abomination” of pork spending blindsided Trump’s team when it was posted during a White House press briefing — and signaled the escalating tension that shadowed Musk’s departure from government last week.
- Musk had criticized Trump’s signature bill before, but before Tuesday afternoon his rhetoric had been far more restrained and muted.
The big picture: Musk and Trump remain friends and allies, the two people in frequent communication with both told Axios. But they said Trump was somewhat irked by Musk’s social media sabotage.
- “Elon was butthurt,” one source said.
- A Musk spokesperson could not be reached.
Zoom in: The sources familiar with the Trump-Musk relationship say there appeared to be four inflection points that led to his caustic attack on Trump’s bill:
- The legislation cuts the electric vehicle tax credit that helps car makers like Musk’s Tesla. As of late April, his company had spent at least $240,000 lobbying on behalf of the credit and other company matters. Behind the scenes, sources say, Musk also advocated for the measure in the legislation, but to no avail.
- Musk was working at the White House as what’s called a “special government employee,” and he had discussed trying to stay in that role beyond the 130-day time limit set by statute for the unpaid advisory position. But ultimately, White House officials said he couldn’t keep serving in that capacity.
- Musk also wanted the Federal Aviation Administration to use his Starlink satellite system for national air traffic control, the sources said. But the administration balked at it because of the appearance of a conflict of interest and for technological reasons. “You can’t have air traffic control just run off satellites,” the second source said.
- The final straw for Musk appeared to come Saturday night, when Trump abruptly announced he was withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a Musk ally, to be NASA administrator.
The intrigue: After Isaacman’s nomination was dropped, word quickly spread in the White House that Sergio Gor — the director of the Office of Presidential Personnel who had clashed with Musk — was behind the decision.
- “This was Sergio’s out-the-door ‘f**k you’ to Musk,” one White House official said.
- But two administration insiders said that wasn’t the case: Senators had complained about Isaacman for being a Democratic donor, the insiders said, and the White House wanted a Republican loyalist.
- “Perception is reality, though, and I’m pretty sure Elon thought the NASA situation was a last insult,” the White House official said. “So here we are.”
