Everything You Need To Know About Trump’s Clash With Elon Over EV Credits

On Thursday, President Donald Trump railed against Elon Musk over the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” pinning the tech billionaire’s opposition to its plan to phase out federal electric vehicle tax credits. But is it really to blame?

Musk, whose Tesla company sells electric vehicles, “only developed the problem [with the bill] when he found out we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate because that’s billions and billions of dollars,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“And it really is unfair,” Trump said. “We want to have cars of all types — electric — we want to have electric, but we want to have gasoline combustion. We want to have different — we want to have hybrids. … We want to be able to sell everything.”

The bill accelerates the phase-out of the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicles from December 31, 2032, to the end of this year. It also outlines terms for a one-year reprieve, but Tesla has already surpassed the 200,000 sales cap to qualify.

In response to Trump, Musk declared that he does not care whether the bill retains cuts for credits on electric vehicles — as well as solar, which is expected to impact the Tesla Energy division with its solar panels and battery storage products.

“Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,” Musk said in a post on X.

He added, “In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this! Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.”

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Musk also tagged the president in another post, asking if he remembered their joint appearance outside the White House in March, when Trump praised Musk for not complaining that he “ended” the EV mandate.

In a post from “Tesla Owners Silicon Valley,” Musk is seen in an old video interview claiming the tax credits actually pose a “competitive disadvantage” for Tesla in comparison to companies that might sell EVs for a much lower price.

Last week, as Musk was ending his time helping to oversee the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort, he started to harshly criticize the legislation — focusing on how it is estimated to inflate the national debt, not the EV credits.

Despite the attack on the bill, Musk appeared with Trump in the Oval Office on Friday, getting a warm send-off after completing his stint as a special government employee. “Elon’s really not leaving,” Trump said. “He’s going to be back and forth, I think.”