In a stunning escalation of political rhetoric and fiscal alarm, Elon Musk has once again taken aim at President Donald Trump’s signature domestic proposal—the so-called “Big, Beautiful, Bill”—warning that the measure could plunge the United States into an unprecedented economic abyss.

With a projected $5 trillion surge in the national deficit looming over the legislation, Musk has gone on the offensive, calling the bill “utterly insane and destructive,” and accusing Republican leadership of endangering the very future of America’s economy for the sake of outdated industries and political optics.

Musk, now a private citizen but still wielding immense cultural and political influence through his 220 million followers on X, did not hold back. “The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” he posted on Saturday, as Senate Republicans scrambled to advance the 940-page bill through a deeply divided chamber. “It gives handouts to industries of the past, while severely damaging industries of the future.”

The billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX continued his barrage of criticism in follow-up posts, referring to the bill as “political suicide” for the GOP and a betrayal of the next generation’s economic stability.

The main thrust of Musk’s criticism centers on the bill’s staggering expansion of the debt ceiling—by an eye-popping $5 trillion. According to Musk, this increase marks “the biggest in American history” and paves the way for what he ominously termed “debt slavery.”

He warned that the bill represents a turning point at which America’s strategic and financial solvency will begin to unravel under the weight of unsustainable borrowing, pork-barrel spending, and fiscal recklessness.

This is not Musk’s first run-in with Trump over fiscal policy. As the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk clashed with Trump’s inner circle on numerous issues, including the prioritization of industrial subsidies, EV mandates, and bloated federal programs.

After leaving the White House, Musk’s public split with Trump grew more intense, culminating in sharp social media rebukes and pointed attacks on what Musk sees as the Republican Party’s abandonment of innovation and responsibility.

In early June, Musk had already sounded the alarm, calling the bill “a massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill… a disgusting abomination.” He urged his followers to take direct political action, stating: “Call your Senator, call your Congressman… kill the bill!”

His advocacy has only intensified in the days leading up to the bill’s movement in the Senate, as Trump presses for a signing ceremony on July 4th—a symbolic deadline that adds urgency and pressure to a legislative process already strained by party fractures and public skepticism.

Despite the billionaire’s aggressive opposition, Trump’s policy team secured a major procedural victory late Saturday night, pushing the bill forward in a 51-49 Senate vote. Vice President J.D. Vance arrived at the Capitol in the evening, prepared to break a potential tie, and held lengthy conversations with hesitant Republicans to firm up the vote count.

The newly-revised version of the bill, released just after midnight, still has to survive Senate debate and then be sent back to the House. But Trump, ever the showman, declared the advancement a “great victory.”

“Tonight we saw a great victory in the Senate,” Trump said in the early morning hours on Sunday. “I look forward to working with them to grow our economy, reduce wasteful spending, secure our border, fight for our military and veterans, ensure that our Medicaid system helps those who truly need it, protect our Second Amendment, and so much more.”

His statement framed the bill as a comprehensive blueprint for national restoration. Yet even as he praised the legislation’s breadth, critics pointed to its depth—a depth of debt, that is—that they say the country simply cannot afford.

Adding to the controversy, Senate Democrats launched a counterattack by invoking an old-school filibuster tactic: reading the entire 940-page bill aloud on the Senate floor. By midday Sunday, the Senate had entered its twelfth hour of reading and was still only halfway through the document. “If Senate Republicans won’t tell the American people what’s in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish,” declared Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

The procedural move may slow down the vote, but it has also highlighted the bill’s massive size and opaque composition—something Musk has used to his advantage in framing the legislation as “deliberately convoluted, unaccountable, and un-American.”

Even within Republican ranks, resistance has bubbled to the surface. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against advancing the bill. Tillis cited the bill’s proposed Medicaid cuts as potentially “devastating” to constituents in his state. “The Senate version… contains significant changes to Medicaid that would be devastating to North Carolina, and I cannot support it,” he said in a statement.

Trump, visibly enraged by Tillis’ opposition, took to Truth Social to suggest he would support a primary challenger to unseat the senator. Hours later, Tillis announced that he would not seek re-election, lamenting the declining space for bipartisanship and independent thought in the current political climate.

Meanwhile, Senator Rand Paul mounted a fiscal attack on the bill, echoing Musk’s warnings about runaway debt. Sharing Musk’s post on Saturday evening, Paul added: “Not that we should govern by poll, but it is very clear people don’t want this extreme amount of debt and reckless spending.”

In a biting jab, he added: “How about this: Tweak the ‘Big, not so beautiful, bill’ so it doesn’t add so much to the debt? The legislation, as currently written, would pay someone like Elon Musk $1,000 per child, and we know how prolific he is… No offense, Elon, but is that a wise use of our $$?”

Trump, in his typical no-holds-barred style, fired back immediately: “Did Rand Paul vote ‘NO’ again tonight? What’s wrong with this guy?” The tension within the party is palpable, as the GOP walks a tightrope between Trump’s populist spending agenda and traditional conservative demands for fiscal restraint.

Interestingly, not all dissent held firm. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who earlier had warned his colleagues not to rush into voting on a bill they hadn’t fully read, dramatically switched his vote to a “yes” in the final hour. He justified the move by citing Trump’s commitment to tackling long-term fiscal challenges.

“After working for weeks with POTUS and his highly capable economic team, I am convinced that he views this as a necessary first step,” Johnson said. “This isn’t the bill I would’ve written—but I believe it’s part of putting America back on a path to fiscal sustainability.”

That assertion, however, rings hollow to Elon Musk and the growing number of critics who see the bill as a Trojan horse for financial catastrophe. “You can’t spend your way into prosperity,” Musk wrote Sunday afternoon. “You can’t rescue the future by mortgaging it entirely. This bill does both.”

Indeed, for all the grand language of reform and recovery, the bill has now become a lightning rod—a symbol of the schism tearing through both the Republican Party and the nation’s economic philosophy. On one side stands Trump, who sees the bill as a necessary gamble to revitalize the nation, create jobs, and solidify a legacy of decisive action.

On the other stands Elon Musk, who frames the legislation as the ultimate betrayal of American innovation and fiscal sanity.

As debate rages on in the Senate and protests erupt online, one thing is clear: this battle over the “Big, Beautiful, Bill” is no longer just about tax reform or spending cuts. It is a referendum on the future of American capitalism, the integrity of its political leadership, and the cost—both literal and figurative—of chasing legacy over logic.

And for Elon Musk, it may very well be the hill on which he plants his flag in the ongoing war for the soul of American conservatism.