In June, Elon Musk contributed $15 million to President Donald Trump and key Republican super PACs, even as tensions flared over a major spending package dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
According to NBC News, Musk made three $5 million donations on June 27 — two to Republican congressional super PACs and one to Trump’s MAGA Inc. The move followed weeks of public disagreement between Musk and GOP leaders over the House-passed spending bill. Musk criticized the package as “pork-filled,” expressing frustration that it lacked deeper fiscal cuts.
Musk also temporarily stepped away from his role as a Trump administration adviser during the dust-up. Earlier in the year, he had donated more than $45 million to his own political group, America PAC, which played a role in April’s Wisconsin Supreme Court elections and Florida special races.
Tensions escalated further when Musk announced the formation of a new political group, the “America Party,” in early July. He criticized the Senate version of the GOP-backed bill, once again targeting its spending levels.
President Trump responded sharply on Truth Social, calling Musk a “train wreck” and slamming his third-party ambitions. “He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States,” Trump wrote. “Third Parties are good for…DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats.”
Trump praised the GOP for passing what he called the “biggest Bill of its kind” and suggested Musk’s opposition stemmed from the bill’s repeal of Biden-era electric vehicle mandates — a policy that directly affects Tesla.
