Elon Musk criticizes Trump's tax bill that cuts electric vehicle credits
Elon Musk slammed the US Senate's latest version of President Donald Trump's multi-trillion dollar tax bill Saturday, warning that the cuts to electric vehicle and other clean energy credits would be 'incredibly destructive' to the country.
Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, posted on his social media platform X about the bill, which the Senate advanced in a contentious vote late Saturday. Musk recently left Trump's side after working for several months as the head of Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
The bill would destroy millions of US jobs and give 'handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future,' Musk said.
The tech billionaire's latest criticism of the package threatens to reawaken his public rift with Trump that began after the world's richest man left his cost-cutting job in the administration.
The bill would bring a quicker end to a popular $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicles.
While the earlier proposal would have ended the incentive at the end of this year for most EV sales, the new version terminates the credit after Sept. 30. Tax credits for the purchase of used and commercial electric vehicles would end at the same time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Canadian Prime Minister Carney says trade talks with US resume after Canada rescinded tech tax
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said late Sunday trade talks with the US have resumed after Canada rescinded its plan to tax US technology firms. US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was suspending trade talks with Canada over its plans to continue with its tax on technology firms, which he called 'a direct and blatant attack on our country.' The Canadian government says in anticipation of a trade deal, Canada would rescind the Digital Services Tax. The tax was set to go into effect Monday. Carney's office said Carney and Trump have agreed to resume negotiations. 'Today's announcement will support a resumption of negotiations toward the July 21, 2025, timeline set out at this month's G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis,' Carney said in a statement. Carney visited Trump in May at the White House, where he was polite but firm. Trump traveled to Canada for the G7 summit in Alberta, where Carney said that Canada and the US had set a 30-day deadline for trade talks. Trump, in a post on his social media network last Friday, said Canada had informed the US that it was sticking to its plan to impose the digital services tax, which applies to Canadian and foreign businesses that engage with online users in Canada. The digital services tax was due to hit companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber, and Airbnb with a three percent levy on revenue from Canadian users. It would have applied retroactively, leaving US companies with a two billion US dollar bill due at the end of the month. Trump's announcement Friday was the latest swerve in the trade war he's launched since taking office for a second term in January. Progress with Canada has been a roller coaster, starting with the US president poking at the nation's northern neighbor and repeatedly suggesting it would be absorbed as a US state.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Intense debate in Senate on Trump's big budget bill as group warns of bigger deficit and millions getting uninsured
WASHINGTON: Debate is underway in the Senate for an all-night session Sunday, with Republicans wrestling President Donald Trump's big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts over mounting Democratic opposition — and even some brake-pumping over the budget slashing by the president himself. The outcome from the weekend of work in the Senate remains uncertain and highly volatile. GOP leaders are rushing to meet Trump's Fourth of July deadline to pass the package, but they barely secured enough support to muscle it past a procedural hurdle in a tense scene the day before. A handful of Republican holdouts revolted, and it took phone calls from Trump and a visit from Vice President JD Vance to keep it on track. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina announced Sunday he would not seek reelection after Trump badgered him for saying he could not vote for the bill with its steep Medicaid cuts. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law. It also said the package would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade. But other Senate Republicans, along with conservatives in the House, are pushing for steeper cuts, particularly to health care, drawing their own unexpected warning from Trump. 'Don't go too crazy!' the president posted on social media. 'REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected.' All told, the Senate bill includes some $4 trillion in tax cuts, making permanent Trump's 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips. The Senate package would roll back billions in green energy tax credits that Democrats warn will wipe out wind and solar investments nationwide, and impose $1.2 trillion in cuts, largely to Medicaid and food stamps, by imposing work requirements and making sign-up eligibility more stringent. Additionally, the bill would provide a $350 billion infusion for border and national security, including for deportations, some of it paid for with new fees charged to immigrants. If the Senate can push through overnight voting and pass the bill, it would need to return to the House. Speaker Mike Johnson has told lawmakers to be on call for a return to Washington this coming week. Democrats ready to fight all night Unable to stop the march toward passage of the 940-page bill, the Democrats as the minority party in Congress is using the tools at its disposal to delay and drag out the process. Democrats forced a full reading of the text, which took some 16 hours. Then senators took over the debate, filling the chamber with speeches, while Republicans largely stood aside. 'Reckless and irresponsible,' said Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan. 'A gift to the billionaire class,' said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, raised particular concern about the accounting method being used by the Republicans, which says the tax breaks from Trump's first term are now 'current policy' and the cost of extending them should not be counted toward deficits. 'In my 33 years here in the United States Senate, things have never — never — worked this way,' said Murray, the longest-serving Democrat on the Budget Committee. She said that kind of 'magic math' won't fly with Americans trying to balance their own household books. 'Go back home and try that game with your constituents,' she said. 'We still need to kick people off their health care — that's too expensive. We still need to close those hospitals — we have to cut costs. And we still have to kick people off SNAP — because the debt is out of control.' Sanders said Tillis' decision not to seek reelection shows the hold that Trump's cult of personality has over the GOP. 'We are literally taking food out of the mouths of hungry kids,' Sanders said, while giving tax breaks to Jeff Bezos and other wealthy billionaires. GOP leaders unphased Republicans are using their majorities to push aside Democratic opposition, and appeared undeterred, even as they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. 'We're going to pass the 'Big, beautiful bill,' said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the Budget Committee chairman. The holdout Republicans remain reluctant to give their votes, and their leaders have almost no room to spare, given their narrow majorities. Essentially, they can afford three dissenters in the Senate, with its 53-47 GOP edge, and about as many in the House, if all members are present and voting. Trump, who has at times allowed wiggle room on his deadline, kept the pressure on lawmakers to finish. He threatened to campaign aginst Tillis, who was worried that Medicaid cuts would leave many without health care in his state. Trump badgered Tillis again on Sunday morning, saying the senator 'has hurt the great people of North Carolina.' Later Sunday, Tillis issued a lengthy statement announcing he would not seek reelection in 2026. In an impassioned evening speech, Tillis shared his views arguing the Senate approach is a betrayal of Trump's promise not to kick people off health care. 'We could take the time to get this right,' he thundered. But until then, he said he would remain opposed. Democrats can't filibuster, but can stall Using a congressional process called budget reconciliation, the Republicans can muscle the bill through on a simple majority vote in the Senate, rather than the typical 60-vote threshold needed to overcome objections. Without the filibuster, Democrats have latched on to other tools to mount their objections. One is the full reading of the bill text, which has been done in past situations. Democrats also intend to use their full 10 hours of available debate time, now underway. And then Democrats are prepared to propose dozens of amendments to the package that would be considered in an all-night voting session — or all-day, depending on the hour. GOP senators to watch As Saturday's vote tally teetered, attention turned to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who was surrounded by GOP leaders in intense conversation. She voted 'yes.' Several provisions in the package are designed for her state in Alaska, but some were out of compliance of the strict rules by the Senate parliamentarian. A short time later, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., drew holdouts Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming to his office. Vance joined in. Later, Scott said, 'We all want to get to yes.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Apple's 'F1: The Movie' Roars to Top of US, Canada Box Office
Apple's high-octane racing film "F1: The Movie" roared to the top of the US and Canadian box office this weekend, fueled by star-power and a finely-tuned marketing campaign, according to Comscore. The movie, which stars Brad Pitt as a Formula 1 racer who returns to the track after an accident nearly ends his career, brought in $55.6 million in ticket sales in the two countries. That tally edged past the $45 million to $55 million pre-weekend domestic forecast from the Boxoffice Company. Worldwide receipts topped $88 million, propelled by the sport's strong fan base in Europe and Latin America. Racing films typically sputter in theaters, according to Daniel Loria, senior vice president of the Boxoffice Company, a theatrical ecommerce and data services firm. The most successful of the genre, the widely acclaimed "Ford v Ferrari," opened to a modest $31 million in November 2019. "We haven't had that many movies about car racing that have broken through," Loria said. One notable outlier is the "Fast & Furious" action series that expanded beyond its street racing roots to include heists, espionage and an improbable moon shot. "F1" had several factors weighing in its favor, helping to broaden its appeal beyond racing enthusiasts. The film's director, Joseph Kosinski, brought the same high-intensity cinematic treatment of Formula 1 racing that he lent to the fighter jet sequences in his 2022 movie, "Top Gun: Maverick." Moviegoers who were polled by CinemaScore gave F1 an A rating, signaling their approval. Netflix's "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" series helped fuel the popularity of Formula 1 racing, particularly in the US Apple also put marketing muscle behind its movie, an Apple Original Films production that Variety reported cost in excess of $200 million to make. The tech giant touted "F1" during CEO Tim Cook's keynote address at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference and offered a movie discount to iPhone users. Apple Music also amplified the film's soundtrack. Warner Bros, which marketed and distributed the movie, developed a bespoke campaign that emphasized the participation of Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton in Europe and Latin America, while focusing on Pitt in the US. "It's very much like a perfectly coordinated pit crew in a race," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with Comscore, an information and analytics company. "They shot this thing off the starting line with great success." "F1" represents the biggest opening weekend for Apple, whose previous cinematic efforts, such as director Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," garnered critical acclaim but achieved modest results at the box office. "The film's outstanding debut reflects both the excitement of Formula 1 and the deeply emotional and entertaining story crafted by the entire cast and creative team," Zack Van Amburg, Apple's head of worldwide video, said in a statement.
