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Trump threatens Musk’s subsidies as public feud reignites

Updated Jul 1, 2025, 9:45am EDT
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Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office.
Nathan Howard/Reuters

US President Donald Trump and former White House adviser Elon Musk reignited their public feud Tuesday, after the tech billionaire criticized Trump’s signature spending bill in a series of posts on X, Musk’s social media platform.

Trump hit back on Truth Social, threatening to end federal subsidies for Musk’s businesses, including Tesla and SpaceX, and hinting that he could look into Musk’s status as a naturalized US citizen — Trump’s administration has ramped up its scrutiny of citizens and other residents not born in America.

Musk seemed to respond to the subsidy threat with another post saying, “I am literally saying CUT IT ALL. Now.”

Musk has received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits, The Washington Post reported.

The feud could compound the challenges facing Tesla: The electric-vehicle company has seen declining sales and is expected to report another fall in quarterly deliveries Wednesday. Shares in the company fell minutes after market open by some 6%.

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