Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, US News
Elon Musk has been slammed by Donald Trump during a shock new Oval Office rant.
Speaking to reporters, the US president was asked about a series of comments the tech boss made last week about a new tax bill that received Trump's full backing.
For those in need of a reminder, Musk previously admitted he was 'disappointed' by the promotion of the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act', which would extend the president's tax cuts and increase border security spending, among several other aims.
"I 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," he told CBS last week.
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"I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion."
Elsewhere during the interview, Musk discussed the criticism he regularly faced for his previous role as Department of Government Efficiency co-lead.
"DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything," he responded to a question asked by the Washington Post.
"Something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.
"'The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realised."
The Tesla CEO continued: "I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least."
Days later, the father-of-14 hit out at the 78-year-old Republican leader's allegedly 'big, beautiful bill' on social media.
Taking to X on Tuesday (3 June), Musk penned: "I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.
"This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.
"Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it."
Responding to Musk's remarks, Trump declared today (5 Jun): "Look, you know, I've always liked Elon, and it's always very surprised you saw the words he had for me, the words and he hasn't said anything about me.
"That's bad. I'd rather have him criticize me than the bill, because the bill is incredible. Elon and I had a great relationship."
He went on to say: "I don't know if went well anymore. I was surprised because you were here, everybody in this room practically was here as we had a wonderful send off.
"He said wonderful things about me couldn't have nicer. Said the best thing.
"But I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here."
Musk has since issued a response of his own, addressing Trump's latest criticism in a tweet that reads: "False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!"
Musk announced his plans to leave the Trump administration last week, with his role as a 'special government employee' - which can only last 130 days - coming to an end.
"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," he wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
"The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."
