WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Elon Musk’s companies receive from the federal government, in an escalation of the war of words between the president and the world’s richest man, one-time allies who have since fallen out.
The feud reignited on Monday when Musk, who spent hundreds of millions on Trump’s re-election, renewed his criticism of Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill, which would eliminate subsidies for electric vehicle purchases that have benefited Tesla, the leading US EV maker.
“He’s upset that he’s losing his EV mandate and … he’s very upset about things but he can lose a lot more than that,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Musk’s businesses, especially Tesla and SpaceX, are highly dependent on an array of federal contracts, policies, subsidies and credits that have provided the companies tens of billions of dollars in revenue over the years.
Some of these benefits for Tesla, including consumer tax credits for EV purchases, were already on the chopping block in Trump’s tax bill. Tesla shares dropped nearly 5 percent in midday trading Tuesday.
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