US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he could consider deporting Elon Musk, after the South African-born billionaire slammed his flagship spending bill.
Speaking to reporters during a press briefing at the White House, Trump responded to a question about Elon Musk with a vague but pointed statement.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look,” he said when asked if deportation of Musk was on the table. This comes in the wake of public criticism from Musk over the administration’s recently unveiled economic package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Trump also mentioned that the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, might be directed toward investigating Musk’s financial ties with the government.
The department, which Musk formerly led before resigning in late May, could possibly examine how much public money has gone into Musk’s companies like Tesla and SpaceX.
“We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” Trump told reporters.
The comments appear to be in response to Musk’s dissatisfaction with the bill’s treatment of electric vehicle (EV) incentives. According to Trump, Musk was angered by the removal of EV subsidies, which had previously supported companies like Tesla.
“He’s losing his EV mandate. He’s very upset about things, but you know, he could lose a lot more than that, I can tell you right now. Elon can lose a lot more than that,” Trump added, hinting at possible further actions.
