Shortly after stepping down as an advisor to Donald Trump, Elon Musk has harshly criticized one of the US president’s key legislative proposals.

According to Musk, the current budget bill being debated in the US Senate is an “outrageous” and “disgusting” plan that undermines US fiscal discipline.

In a post published on Tuesday on his platform X, the Tesla and SpaceX boss (202 million followers) described the package as “abominable” and spoke of a “pork-filled bill” – a term used in US politics to refer to expensive concessions to individual voter groups or states.

Musk had already expressed skepticism about the bill in an interview at the end of May, complaining that it would further increase the US debt mountain. Musk said he had set out with the goal of reducing inefficient bureaucratic costs, but that the budget now under discussion was in clear contradiction to this. Shortly thereafter, he withdrew from his advisory role in Trump’s circle.

White House responds with composure

The reaction from the White House remained calm. Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, “The president is aware of Elon Musk’s opinion.” Nevertheless, Trump is sticking to his draft, which he himself describes as the “Big Beautiful Bill” – a term he uses with pride. Despite growing unrest within the Republican ranks, Trump is pushing for passage before the beginning of July.

The budget is politically explosive: in addition to the usual expenditure items, it contains a series of special funds and subsidies that conservative critics in particular describe as excessive. Elon Musk is not the only prominent opponent, but his harsh words mark a noticeable escalation in the dispute with the former president, with whom he was closely associated until recently.

Whether Trump’s prestige project will pass the Senate remains to be seen – but with Musk’s vocal involvement, the debate has gained a prominent voice and a new level of criticism.

Image: APA