Could be the EV subsidies; although in the below quote he says he has no problem with those being removed, he shows, in the same quote, he is irritated that OIL AND GAS SUBSIDIES REMAIN. So, it could be that.
I don't think he is helping his case, and popularity, by not being vastly more clear about how, exactly, he would propose to deal with the politics of budget cuts.
Doubtless, wholesale elimination of government functions would be his suggestion (and, longer-term, mine). But how do you do that and not lose 2026 midterms??? "America First" (I won't even say Republican) needs to decisively win the 2026 and 2028 national elections, or all the progress will be lost...and any hope for the US as a "rule of law" constitutional republic, as well.
After the 2028 election, if Vance wins that, the aged, angry spinsters of the toxic Leninist contingent should be shrinking fast. And, hopefully, a new generation which rejects pretty much everything about Leninism will start coming out of the schools.
http://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/donald-trump-says-elon-musk-went-crazy-over-us-ev-subsidy-cuts
"[Musk] reiterated this earlier today, arguing President Trump’s Republican party should “keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil and gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill”.
Buyers of new EVs in the US can currently receive a full tax credit of US$7500 (A$11,550), provided the vehicles meet certain battery component requirements.
Should the One Big Beautiful Bill Act pass in its current form, this tax credit – which depending on buyers’ incomes, applies to certain Tesla Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck vehicles – will be repealed.
So it might be that.
What the BBB bill will reward is US made LUXURY cars -- by making interest on car loans tax deductibe. Per this article, this will mostly reward LUXURY brands costing >$130,000 each!!! --with massive loans.
http://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/24/how-to-get-full-big-beautiful-bill-car-loan-interest-tax-break.html
President Donald Trump proposed a tax break on car loan interest while on the campaign trail last year.
House and Senate Republicans have pitched a $10,000 tax deduction on auto loan interest as part of the so-called “one big beautiful bill” being debated in Washington.
Households would likely need to buy luxury cars that cost $130,000 or more to get the maximum benefit, one economist said.
Models with such price tags include “exotic” brands like Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Bentley, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, McLaren, Porsche, Land Rover, Cadillac, Maserati, Lotus or Mercedes-Benz, the economist said.
I don't know if electric is specifically exempt or not. Maybe electric, made in the US is included? Anyone know?
I think Tesla's EVs are very distinct, with their own high-tech appeal, vs the JUNK "EV's" I've seen from other manufacturers to date (especially Ford EVs are an embarrassment). You truly feel like everything is is cheap and disposable...including you, for buying such an ugly piece of garbage! I presume foreign EVs are better, but I doubt they can match the Tesla tech.
I think Tesla needs to pivot, as fast as it can, to the robotaxis, robots, metro markets, and space vehicles (moon-buggies, mars-buggies) where combustion engines can't really follow.
I imagine Musk is feeling pretty discouraged right now:
1.0 He burned his popularity with the left, now he has burned it with many on the right, by backing Trump so publicly and, arguably, tipping the Presidential election.
2.0 His political power failed in backing a Wisconsin-state Judge (he spent a fortune and campaigned in person, but his candidate lost by 10%!!)
3.0 He has had something like 5 "Starship" losses in a row! And the latest massive explosion of a starship while doing a fairly routine test-firing of the engine is going to set Space-X back a long, long way...I'm guessing it may take a year before the next attempt? So, StarShip troubles will mean NO 2026 Mars launch. And it may well cost FOUR years or more vs the previous timeline?
http://ia.acs.org.au/article/2025/starship-explosion-casts-doubt-on-2026-mars-mission.html
4.0 Tesla Troubles everywhere.
I could continue, but I think Musk has a whole lot of "failures", disappointments, and delays to deal with right now. And even though he has this immense fortune on paper, his weak spot is likely to be cash-flow to keep funding all the projects. I can only imagine, but INSOLVENCY takes out far more businesses than does actual bankruptcy!
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I'm really sympathetic to Musk at this point, although I don't know the full story. He chose to back Trump and take Trump's election on as a PRIORITY over his other business work. He DID win the election for Trump + MAGA. And now almost everything is going wrong, at approximately the same time, for all his many endeavors.
I think DOGE was a huge success, but not enough to get anywhere even remotely near the promised/hoped-for $1 Trillion in annual savings. To really cut the budget would almost require a complete shutdown of the military-industrial US "World Policeman" thing.
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US military budget slashes will come in time or military collapse will happen in time. This is actually inevitable, as the wars haven't cashflowed from winnings..since probably WW2.
Unless we start "properly" conquering all the nations we fight with, and then STEALING ALL THEIR ASSETS, it is simple mathematic/economic logic that the foreign bases and foreign adventures are only draining wealth from the United States at an accelerating rate.
Consider WE LOST AT LEAST $8 TRILLION, ALL OF OUR PRIVACY, AND MORE OF OUR FREEDOMS IN THE BUSH-CHENEY-OBAMA-BIDEN 911 'Warn tear' fiasco. And now we have to have probes stuck up our ass every time we get on a plane, and every telephone call or email message captured and analyzed. Quite a "win" our Neo-Cons bought us. How many more of these $8+ Trillion fiascos do we need to be "free" and "prosperous"? Make Israel First? Yeah, that's the ticket. Take another Covid shot.
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Anyway, I am still enormously grateful Trump & Musk got elected. But I am beginning to think Trump doesn't have much of a plan beyond this point, and he is mostly riffing without an instrument. So I am bit worried. But trying to keep focussed on what I can control.
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