Relations between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are once again strained. This time, Trump has begun threatening the billionaire to cancel subsidies for his companies and send him back to South Africa.
The new controversy began with Elon Musk once again criticizing Donald Trump's "Great and Wonderful" bill, which aims to lower taxes, increase spending on defense and border security, and cut social programs such as Medicaid.
"If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day. Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE," Musk wrote in X.
Shortly after, the US president wrote on Truth Social that Musk knew from the beginning that Trump opposed the electric vehicle mandate, which requires a certain percentage of new vehicles sold by automakers to be electric. Donald Trump then implied that Musk and his companies depend on government subsidies, and if they were removed, the billionaire would have to return to his native South Africa.
"Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE," the US president said in a statement.
According to an investigation by The Washington Post, Elon Musk and his companies have received $38 billion in various government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax breaks over more than two decades. These government subsidies are a major factor in the rapid growth of Musk's companies.
One of Elon Musk's companies, SpaceX, has been receiving at least $1 billion in government contracts annually since 2016. The value of the contracts increased to between $2 billion and $4 billion per year between 2021 and 2024. The billionaire's other company, Tesla, has been receiving $1 billion per year since 2020.
Now Trump is saying that perhaps the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was started by Elon Musk, should conduct a review of these contracts, because it would save an incredible amount of money.
Recall that in early June, after Musk stepped down from DOGE, the billionaire began criticizing Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Act, which sparked a heated online debate between the two. During the debate, Musk even said that the US president was on the list of people who visited Jeffrey Epstein's island. However, Musk soon apologized for his words.
Meanwhile, Tesla is facing significant sales challenges in Europe amid increased competition from Chinese automakers and a tarnished reputation from Musk. SpaceX could also be at a disadvantage, as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is already trying to capitalize on the differences between Trump and Musk to secure government contracts for his space company Blue Origin.