This is just a reminder that Trump is mercurial—something his critics know well.
Headline (paywall):
Trump, Musk Trade Barbs Amid Break Over Policy BillThe relationship ruptured in real time online, spurred by disagreement over the deficit impact of Trump’s policy bill.
Simmering policy disagreements between President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on June 4 devolved into open conflict after Trump criticized his former ally from the Oval Office.
Musk quickly shot back on his social media platform X, posting a flurry of responses and raising the prospect of abandoning the GOP entirely in favor of a new third party. Trump responded on his Truth Social platform, threatening to cancel government contracts with Musk’s companies.
The conflict escalated rapidly online, with both leveling harsh criticism at the other.
The once-close relationship between the two, which began in 2024 after Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, appeared to have been strained in recent weeks by disagreements over the House-passed budget bill, called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The Republican legislation would fund and implement Trump’s agenda but has been condemned by Musk and some other Republicans for its potential impact on the federal deficit.
I've long contended on this blog that Trump, in the tradition of most recent US presidents, has been unserious with regard to deficit/debt issues—a problem that has dogged him since his first term. If you read further in the article, you find out that part of the current conflict comes from Trump's repeal of credits for EVs, a sacred cow for Musk, who is the EV king as the CEO of Tesla. I suspected that EVs might become a bone of contention between the two but was willing to give both Trump and Musk the benefit of the doubt. Ultimately, though, as an EV skeptic (if you insist on EVs, go hybrid), I lean more toward Trump than toward Musk on this one. Not that I want to see more Cybertrucks burn.
ADDENDUM: Nick Freitas comments.
ADDENDUM 2:
I'm sure the left is loving this.
ADDENDUM 3:
ADDENDUM 4:
Although I'm a Trump supporter, this is an example of the behavior that keeps me from being a Trump fan. He's the frickin' president, he should be getting into this kind of pissing contest with a former underling. Grown-ups can disagree on policy without acting like silly schoolchildren.
ReplyDelete>,,,part of the current conflict comes from Trump's repeal of credits for EVs, a sacred cow for Musk, who is the EV king as the CEO of Tesla.
ReplyDeleteActually, Musk has been advocating the repeal of the EV tax credits for a long time. He may have been a proponent of them way back when when Tesla was first getting its legs, but he has consistently been in favor of phasing them out over the past few years.
Brian
Musk's attitude may have changed, and I don't think I'm hallucinating here.
DeleteYahoo! Finance: "In social media posts, Musk calls for Americans to demand their lawmakers 'kill the bill.' Additional reports indicate that the bill would gut the Biden-era EV tax credit, adding to the list of possible reasons for the auto executive to oppose the legislative package."
Yahoo Finance video: "Trump killing EV tax credits is a 'death blow' for Tesla and Elon Musk is 'responsible'"
Yahoo Finance (different article): "Tesla CEO Elon Musk may now believe EV tax credit loss would be bad for business"
Newsweek: "Elon Musk Wasted Thousands Trying to Stop Trump Targeting Tesla in Tax Bill"
I could go on and on. Are these conspicuously non-rightie sources all wrong?
True, I think I did see a tweet from Musk himself in which he seemed, during this feud, amenable to losing the tax credit for Tesla. But the situation between Musk and Trump appears to be rapidly evolving (or maybe it's some sort of massive psyop by the two to draw out people's true feelings). Let's sit back and see what happens.
You are not hallucination, but somewhat incorrect. None of the above articles directly state Elon Musk's previous stance on EV credits. Here are a few articles from around the time of the election. When Musk was cozying up to President Trump, Trump was already advocating for removal of EV tax credits and Musk was on record as supporting that.
DeleteRegardless, I think it is clear that Trump wanting to end of EV tax credits was well known for the past year or so, and had little to nothing to do with the ending of the Trump/Musk bromance.
Both seem to be narcissistic sociopaths, and two of those type of personalities cannot coexist long term.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/12/05/musk-calls-for-ending-electric-vehicle-tax-credit-which-could-help-tesla/
https://www.investopedia.com/why-does-elon-musk-support-ending-ev-tax-credits-two-reasons-8747418
https://www.visaverge.com/news/why-elon-musk-backs-ending-ev-tax-credits/
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-tesla-elon-musk-supports-trump-ending-ev-tax-credits-2024-11?op=1
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-would-consider-ending-7500-electric-vehicle-credit-2024-08-19/
etc.
Brian
Okay, so let's establish a chronology. My original contention, on June 6—and which you quoted—was: "If you read further in the article, you find out that part of the current conflict comes from Trump's repeal of credits for EVs, a sacred cow for Musk, who is the EV king as the CEO of Tesla."
DeleteI didn't just make that up. It's a theory that was floated around almost immediately after the conflict erupted, and it makes sense given (1) Musk's partisan, pro-EV stance as the CEO of Tesla and (2) Trump's stance that favors and prioritizes oil, gas, and nuclear.
Your counter-claim on June 7 was: "Actually, Musk has been advocating the repeal of the EV tax credits for a long time."
The evidence I provided in favor of my stance dates back to recent articles from non-rightie sources: two articles from Yahoo Finance from June 5, a Yahoo Finance video on June 6, and a Newsweek article from June 5.
In return, you cited evidence from well before my articles: a Forbes article from December 2024, an Investopedia article from November 2024, a VisaVerge article from November 2024, a Business Insider article from November 24, and a Reuters article from August 2024.
I have no problem acknowledging that these articles attest to Musk's attitude at the time, but this doesn't make me, or more precisely, the articles I cited, incorrect. All we've established is that Musk had one attitude in 2024, and he apparently now has a different attitude in 2025. So you can either reject the idea that Musk changed his attitude by citing yet more (recent!) articles, or you can argue that the articles I cited are all fakes, or there may be some dodgy third alternative.
At best, we've established what Musk may have thought and what he may think now, keeping in mind that neither of us is a mind-reader. These claims, yours and mine, don't have to be mutually exclusive.
Going back to the text I'd written: I never claimed anything, one way or another, about what Musk might have believed last year: that's an unjustified inference you made on your own in an attempt to say I was somehow incorrect.
And this comes after I had extended an olive branch and said, "Let's sit back and see what happens." Can we do that, or must I be wrong?
Current news is that Musk seems (seems! I agree these are two men with huge egos) amenable to mending fences with Trump. People on the right are now arguing that the whole leftist "President Musk" narrative is obviously a lie: Musk can't possibly have the reins if Trump has somehow pissed him off.