Elon Musk’s political silence lasted exactly three weeks. For anyone else, that might seem brief. For Musk, it was an eternity. Some even speculated that the Tesla CEO had backed away from politics and geopolitical affairs for good.
This was a profound misunderstanding of the man who has just spectacularly reminded politicians of his power by renewing his attacks on Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” and provoking the Ayatollah of Iran.
The criticism of the Trump administration’s signature legislation has been scathing. “The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!,” the billionaire wrote on X. He followed up by citing private polling data he posted that showed widespread opposition to the bill’s key tenets, concluding, “Polls show that this bill is political suicide for the Republican Party.”
The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!
Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future. https://t.co/TZ9w1g7zHF
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2025
The message is clear: he’s not going anywhere. Musk intends to continue using his platform to influence political affairs, and with a fortune valued at $367 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he has the financial power to back it up.
This new offensive puts him in direct conflict with a president who has yet to respond. Trump wants his flagship bill, which includes deep cuts to social programs and clean energy while raising the debt ceiling, signed by July 4. With the Senate set to begin debate on June 29, Musk’s attacks are unlikely to help sway Republican legislators already worried about exploding the national deficit.
For Musk, this is a risky maneuver. His previous political involvement came at a high price. After reportedly spending heavily to help Trump return to the White House, he was entrusted with a tailor made department, the infamous Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The department’s actions, which included eliminating government agencies, quickly made it a symbol of the administration’s controversial agenda. As a result, Tesla’s reputation as a clean energy champion took a massive hit. The company saw its sales, stock, and profits plummet amid global protests, and under pressure from investors, Musk was forced to leave the government at the end of May.
To make matters worse, Musk and Trump had a massive public fallout on June 5, trading a series of personal insults online. The backlash from the MAGA base was so severe that Musk was forced to apologize, express his regrets, and delete one of his most inflammatory posts about Trump. Since then, the state of the relationship between the two men has been unclear.
Beyond domestic politics, Musk also sent a clear message to foreign leaders. He issued a direct provocation to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after the Iranian Supreme Leader threatened Israel following recent US and Israeli military actions.
“The Zionist regime must know that attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran will result in a heavy cost for them,” Ayatollah Khamenei posted on X on June 26, his first message since the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites.
To this, Musk replied with a taunt: “Is America the Great Satan or the Greatest Satan?”
Is America the Great Satan or the Greatest Satan?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 26, 2025
The Ayatollah did not respond, but Musk’s intention was obvious. He followed up with a second post reading, “Only on X,” a boast that the world’s most powerful people communicate on his platform.
For those who thought the tech king was retreating to focus solely on his businesses, Musk has just reminded everyone that he has no intention of giving up his global influence.
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