The falling out between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was bound to happen. Two people with that much power and that much ego could not be buddies for long, especially given their shared inclination to publicly denigrate anyone with whom they disagree.
Although Musk is trying to mend the rift, his motivations now and in the past should be regarded with suspicion.
There was validity to his criticism of Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” for being a budget buster, but as Trump and others pointed out, Musk may have an ulterior motive for trying to undermine the legislation: It would also eliminate a “green energy” policy that has brought billions of dollars to Tesla, one of Musk’s companies.
According to The Washington Post, Tesla has received more than $11 billion by selling regulatory credits to traditional automakers that have not been able to meet the federal government’s EV mandates. The version of the “big, beautiful bill” that passed the House would do away with this windfall, which has accounted for about a third of Tesla’s profits since 2014.
It leaves one asking whether Musk is primarily upset about the legislation because it’s bad for the country or bad for his business.
