Elon Musk’s introduction to politics

Summary

Elon Musk spent the last several months knee deep in government, sidelining his companies to pursue a longstanding Republican quest to weed out alleged waste and fraud. Then, a few weeks ago, House Republicans passed a bill with provisions that would kneecap Tesla. Now, Musk is fuming that the bill is “a disgusting abomination.” Plenty has been written about Musk’s motivations for cozying up to President Donald Trump; for spending 130 days as a special government employee; for spending time away from Tesla, the main source of his wealth. Whatever his reasons, Musk did come away with some wins: He managed to secure some free advertising for Tesla, and Starlink is slowly embedding itself into the federal government. But his time roaming the halls of power and standing alongside the president haven’t exempted Tesla from Republicans’ desire to sink clean energy and electric vehicles. On Tuesday, Musk let loose. “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.” The Congressional Budget Office has yet to score the bill and its impact on the deficit, but this week the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonprofit organization, estimated that the legislation would add $3 trillion in debt. Musk might be publicly denouncing the reconciliation bill for its inability to rein in federal deficits — there’s no reason to think he doesn’t believe its a problem — but it’s hard to imagine he doesn’t feel personally slighted by the legislation. An Axios report backs up that take on the situation, saying that Musk was “frustrated at failing to win favorable treatment in the bill and the administration at large.” “Elon was butthurt,” a source with knowledge of Musk’s feelings told Axios. It’s not just Musk’s feelings that could be bruised: His fortune could be dented if provisions hostile to Tesla su...