When Elon Musk Highlights Donald Trump’s Limits – And His Own
Published in Le Temps
(Switzerland) on 28 May 2025
by Aline Bassin (link to original)
(Switzerland) on 28 May 2025
by Aline Bassin (link to original)
Translated from
by Emily Kelly.
Edited by Michelle Bisson.
As Congress decides on a controversial fiscal reform, the Tesla boss expresses his doubts about the bill, hitting where it hurts: the abyss of American debt and the impossibility of resolving it.
Knowing the temperaments and egos of both of these characters, the question wasn't if, but when the "bromance" between Elon Musk and Donald Trump would reach its end. A little more than four months after the Republican president's return to power, a major rift has appeared this week in the relationship between the two multibillionaires.
In an excerpt from an interview that will be broadcast this weekend, the richest man in the world makes no secret of his skepticism about the tax overhaul currently being discussed in Congress. Playing on the name of this "Big Beautiful Bill," he noted that a bill could be "big" or "beautiful," but doubted it could be both. "My personal opinion," he added soberly.
A Widening Deficit
Since the interview was conducted before the explosion of the Starship rocket made by Musk’s company SpaceX, no one can blame this bold stance on a bad mood. With these words, the man who officially left his post as head of the "Department of Government Efficiency" this week simply stated out loud what many fear. Contrary to the promises with which Trump lured in his voters, the bill submitted to Congress does not reduce America’s financial imbalance. According to projections from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, this bill, which aims in particular to honor tax cuts promised during Trump's campaign, is expected to increase the U.S. budget deficit by $2.7 trillion by 2034. There is no prospect of the deficit returning below 6% before the next decade.
The Limits of the Trump Method
Since the Republican leader likes simple explanations, there's no need to beat around the bush to identify the problem: too few spending cuts in Musk's eyes, too many tax breaks according to Democrats, and a dangerously unbalanced result for financial experts. For that matter, investors expressed their concern last week by pushing U.S. Treasury yields above 5%.
Whatever position one takes, the conclusion is the same: The reform, which the Senate still needs to pass, will worsen America's already debilitating debt. Called to order by the financial markets, the American president has, for the moment, lacked the courage to force his exorbitant tariffs through, supposedly meant to help fill the government's coffers. And even if he did succeed, it won't be enough to reverse the trend. Musk understands this perfectly. While the South African entrepreneur underestimated the negative effect his association with Trump would have on potential Tesla buyers, he masters one art better than anyone else: calculation.
This allows him to know deep down that his DOGE balance sheet is also very far from the mark, since he was aiming for between $2 trillion and $3 trillion in gains, and got clearly less with the $175 billion he officially slashed with his own chainsaw.
Knowing the temperaments and egos of both of these characters, the question wasn't if, but when the "bromance" between Elon Musk and Donald Trump would reach its end. A little more than four months after the Republican president's return to power, a major rift has appeared this week in the relationship between the two multibillionaires.
In an excerpt from an interview that will be broadcast this weekend, the richest man in the world makes no secret of his skepticism about the tax overhaul currently being discussed in Congress. Playing on the name of this "Big Beautiful Bill," he noted that a bill could be "big" or "beautiful," but doubted it could be both. "My personal opinion," he added soberly.
A Widening Deficit
Since the interview was conducted before the explosion of the Starship rocket made by Musk’s company SpaceX, no one can blame this bold stance on a bad mood. With these words, the man who officially left his post as head of the "Department of Government Efficiency" this week simply stated out loud what many fear. Contrary to the promises with which Trump lured in his voters, the bill submitted to Congress does not reduce America’s financial imbalance. According to projections from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, this bill, which aims in particular to honor tax cuts promised during Trump's campaign, is expected to increase the U.S. budget deficit by $2.7 trillion by 2034. There is no prospect of the deficit returning below 6% before the next decade.
The Limits of the Trump Method
Since the Republican leader likes simple explanations, there's no need to beat around the bush to identify the problem: too few spending cuts in Musk's eyes, too many tax breaks according to Democrats, and a dangerously unbalanced result for financial experts. For that matter, investors expressed their concern last week by pushing U.S. Treasury yields above 5%.
Whatever position one takes, the conclusion is the same: The reform, which the Senate still needs to pass, will worsen America's already debilitating debt. Called to order by the financial markets, the American president has, for the moment, lacked the courage to force his exorbitant tariffs through, supposedly meant to help fill the government's coffers. And even if he did succeed, it won't be enough to reverse the trend. Musk understands this perfectly. While the South African entrepreneur underestimated the negative effect his association with Trump would have on potential Tesla buyers, he masters one art better than anyone else: calculation.
This allows him to know deep down that his DOGE balance sheet is also very far from the mark, since he was aiming for between $2 trillion and $3 trillion in gains, and got clearly less with the $175 billion he officially slashed with his own chainsaw.
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