Elon Musk Slams Biden's 'Build Back Better' Agenda: 'Can This Bill, Don’t Pass It'
Billionaire calls on lawmakers to reject Democrat's plan
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Tech billionaire Elon Musk has called on lawmakers in Washington D.C. to reject Democrat Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" plan.
While speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s annual CEO Council, Musk reportedly trashed Joe Biden’s proposal on Monday.
The Independent reported that Musk told attendees that the Senate should not pass the massive spending plan because the bill would add an “insane” amount to America’s deficit.
According to the report, the technology entrepreneur maintained that he was not really paying attention to negotiations in Congress.
However, he told CEOs from around the world that he is fiercely opposed to Biden's agenda.
“I would say can this bill, don’t pass it. That’s my recommendation,” he told the event's audience.
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"If this bill happens or doesn’t happen, we don’t think about it at all really,” Musk reportedly said.
"Honestly it might be better if the bill doesn’t pass.”
Tesla founder Musk said he took issue with how the $2 trillion spending package would add to the “insane” federal budget deficit.
He said the move would have the government incentivizing certain businesses, including up to $12,500 in incentives for electric car buyers.
The Daily Wire has reported that in recent months, Musk has increased his public attacks on Joe Biden:
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk slammed President Biden after he ignored the company’s first successful civilian voyage.
Last month, SpaceX — which is known for disrupting the space industry by creating reusable rocket boosters — sent four civilian astronauts on a three-day trip to space. The mission was the first flight to orbit Earth with an exclusively civilian crew — and it had the goal of drawing $200 million in funding for St. Jude’s Research Hospital.
The initiative, however, received no recognition from President Biden. One of Musk’s followers on Twitter asked: “The President of the United States has refused to even acknowledge the 4 newest American astronauts who helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars for St. Jude. What’s your theory on why that is?”
“He’s still sleeping,” Musk responded.
Likewise, Biden excluded Musk’s company, Tesla, from an electric vehicle summit that included several of his competitors.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki implied it was because Tesla is not unionized:
Executives from General Motors, Ford, and other companies joined President Biden at the White House as he announced a reversal of “the previous administration’s short-sighted rollback of vehicle emissions and efficiency standards.” News outlets — and Musk himself — were surprised that Tesla, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, was not invited.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked if Tesla was omitted because it is not unionized. She said that attendees included “the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers,” adding that she would let reporters “draw your own conclusions.”
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While Musk may not want Biden’s stimulus to pass, executives on Wall Street anticipate it will become law in a matter of months, CNBC reported Tuesday morning:
Wall Street economists believe some version of President Joe Biden’s nearly $2 trillion Build Back Better plan will become law.
And they also think the measure, which includes hundreds of billions of dollars in funds to fight climate change, will be another big deal for the infrastructure industry on the heels of a separate, $1 trillion public works law the president signed earlier this fall.
Economists at Goldman Sachs, Evercore ISI, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan have all written in recent weeks that they believe it’s a matter of time until the Senate passes Biden’s Build Back Better legislation.
That could mean a business boom for some of the country’s biggest construction and materials companies, they say.
“Nothing in DC is 100% sure, but I think the odds are very high, I’d say 80-90% that we get some sort of BBB,” Mike Feroli, chief U.S. economist at J.P. Morgan, told CNBC.
The bill will also increase the size of the Internal Revenue Service, meaning more middle-class and low-income Americans could be audited.
