Musk Says He’s ‘Disappointed’ That Trump Tax Bill Raises Deficit

Elon Musk expressed dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s giant tax bill, which the US House narrowly passed last week, saying it undercut his efforts to slash government spending. 

Musk, who has announced he’s stepping back from his Department of Government Efficiency — a body that quickly became an exponent of the second Trump administration’s vision — told CBS News in an interview that he was “disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”

The network released an excerpt of the interview on Tuesday night. It will be broadcast on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend.

Earlier: Trump Tax Bill Narrowly Passes House, Overcoming Infighting 

The legislation, which Trump calls his “big, beautiful bill” and includes an array of tax cuts, now goes to the Senate. Musk, the billionaire chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, seemed to echo the concerns of some Republicans in the House and Senate who believe the legislation costs too much and demand more spending reductions. 

“We are so far away from an acceptable bill, it’s hard to say,” said Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, when asked when his chamber could complete its work.

Other Republicans, however, not only oppose further cuts, but object to provisions already in the House version, such as restricting Medicaid benefits and the swift elimination of clean-energy tax incentives.

“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful,” Musk said in the CBS interview, “but I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion.”

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