Without govt aid, Musk will have to head back home to South Africa: Trump

US President Donald Trump has taken fresh aim at electric vehicle (EV) mandates and Elon Musk, saying the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, companies run by the latter, owes their success to government subsidies. In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump reiterated his long-standing opposition to EV mandates, calling them “ridiculous” and emphasising that while electric cars are “fine,” Americans should not be forced to drive them.

“Elon Musk knew, long before he endorsed me, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate,” Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social. “It was always a major part of my campaign,” he added.

The post dwelt on Musk’s reliance on federal support, with Trump alleging that the billionaire entrepreneur “may get more subsidy than any human being in history.” Without such government aid, Trump claimed, Musk would be forced to “close up shop and head back home to South Africa.”

He added that ending subsidies for electric cars, space launches and satellite technology could save the country “a FORTUNE,” and suggested: “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this?”. This was a reference to the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, which Musk had earlier headed. Trump was suggesting that the department should dig deep into how much taxpayer money goes into Elon Musk’s business empire.

Musk had once again taken to X on Monday to criticise Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which merges sweeping tax cuts with reductions to social welfare programmes. Economists say the legislation’s primary beneficiaries will be the wealthy, although it does promise some gains for the working class. Musk, who was once a prominent supporter of Trump’s re-election campaign but later distanced himself from the President, posted an image on X emblazoned with the word “Liar,” along with a message that read: “Anyone who campaigned on the PROMISE of REDUCING SPENDING, but continues to vote on the BIGGEST DEBT ceiling increase in HISTORY will see their face on this poster in the primary next year.”

Donald TrumpElon Muskgovernment aidsatellite technologySouth AfricaUS politicsWeb Exclusive