- Billionaire CEO Elon Musk had a scathing assessment of the Democratic social and climate bill.
- He urged Democrats to “can” the legislation.
- He specifically targeted a provision that would authorize a tax credit if Americans bought an electric vehicle assembled by unionized workers with batteries constructed in the US.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk assailed a $2 trillion social and climate spending bill, saying he’s in favor of scrapping the entire package.
“Honestly, I would just can this whole bill. Don’t pass it,” Musk said at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council, which he appeared at virtually. “That’s my recommendation.”
He swung at a specific provision within the legislation that would authorize a tax credit up to $12,500 for Americans if they bought an electric vehicle assembled by unionized workers with batteries constructed in the US.
“I am literally saying get rid of all subsidies,” he said.
Congressional Democrats are aiming to put the bill on President Joe Biden’s desk sometime before the end of the year. The sprawling measure contains the bulk of his economic agenda.
The House-approved legislation would set up universal pre-K for three- and four-year-olds and renew monthly cash payments to the vast majority of American families for another year. It would expand Medicare to cover hearing services, enact four weeks of paid family and medical leave, and fight the climate emergency. Democrats want to pay for it with tax hikes on the rich and large corporations.
Musk, who said he generally believes that the government should “get out of the way,” has already criticized and mocked Democrats for their legislation, sometimes using vulgar terms. He stepped up his attacks as they assembled a new tax proposal targeting billionaires. That’s fallen out of the bill due to centrist opposition.
The Tesla chief executive also criticized the widening budget deficit, or the gap between what the government spends and ultimately collects in tax revenue every year. He called it “insane” and said that “zeroing out” all of the billionaires still wouldn’t fix the deficit.