Tesla billionaire warns nation faces ‘debt slavery’ as interest payments already devour 35% of tax revenue – and it’s about to get MUCH worse
Elon Musk has unleashed a blistering attack on President Trump’s signature spending legislation, warning that America’s runaway debt crisis will plunge the nation into “debt slavery” and leave nothing for Social Security, Medicare or defense.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO branded the One Big Beautiful Bill Act a “disgusting abomination” in a series of explosive social media posts that have sent shockwaves through Washington and complicated the bill’s path through the Senate.
“This immense level of overspending will drive America into debt slavery!” Musk declared early on Wednesday in a post on X, as the national debt soars past an eye-watering $36 trillion.
His dire warning comes as shocking new data reveals the true scale of America’s financial crisis – with interest payments on the debt already consuming a staggering 34.8% of federal tax receipts.
THE NUMBERS THAT SHOULD TERRIFY EVERY AMERICAN
In a follow-up post that laid bare the catastrophic reality facing the nation, Musk warned: “Interest payments already consume 25% of all government revenue. If the massive deficit spending continues, there will only be money for interest payments and nothing else! No social security, no medical, no defense … nothing.”
The actual figures are even worse than Musk stated. According to the latest data, Interest payments in Q1 ate up 34.8% of the tax receipts that were available to pay for them, with some quarters seeing the ratio spike as high as 37.7% – the worst since 1996.
The Congressional Budget Office projects that interest payments will total $952 billion in fiscal year 2025 – nearly a TRILLION dollars – and will explode to $1.8 trillion by 2035.
To put that in perspective, interest costs would reach 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026 — eclipsing the previous high set in 1991.
MUSK TURNS ON TRUMP
In what amounts to a dramatic break with the President, Musk savaged both the legislation and the Republicans who voted for it.
I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk wrote in a post on his social media platform X. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.”
He added with barely concealed fury: “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
The attack is particularly significant as Musk – who spent nearly $300 million supporting Trump in the 2024 election – is one of the few people in conservative politics who can publicly defy the President.
WHITE HOUSE BRUSHES OFF CRITICISM
The White House attempted to dismiss Musk’s blistering critique, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters: “Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
But sources close to the situation paint a different picture. According to insiders who spoke to Axios, Musk was frustrated at failing to win favorable treatment in the bill and felt it was a “last insult” after stepping back from his role leading the administration’s cost-cutting DOGE initiative.
“Elon was butthurt,” one White House official admitted candidly.
THE DEBT DISASTER
The numbers backing up Musk’s apocalyptic warnings are genuinely terrifying:
- The national debt has ballooned by $13 trillion (by 56%) in just five years, from $23.2 trillion in Q1 2020 to $36.2 trillion in Q1 2025
- The Congressional Budget Office says the bill would increase the national debt by $2.4 trillion over the next decade
- Independent analysts put the real figure as high as $5 trillion once accounting gimmicks are stripped away
- Interest payments will exceed Medicare spending this year and are second only to Social Security
- By 2035, the Treasury will be paying $4.9 billion PER DAY just in interest
REPUBLICAN REVOLT BREWING
Musk’s explosive intervention appears to be emboldening GOP deficit hawks in the Senate who were already queasy about the bill’s massive price tag.
“I certainly have an interest in making sure people with disabilities are not harmed. But also, there’s the broad issue of how does it affect hospital reimbursements,” Senator Jerry Moran told reporters, highlighting the difficult balancing act facing Republicans.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has signaled he likely will not vote for the bill in its current form, citing the debt ceiling increase as a red line.
Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene partially agreed with Musk, saying: “I always love it when Americans are angry at the federal government and express it. I think that should’ve been happening for years now. I mean, we’re $36 trillion in debt for a reason.”
THE DOGE DISASTER
The irony is not lost on observers that while Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) expects to trim federal spending by about $170 billion this year, Trump’s bill would add TRILLIONS to the deficit.
I think the cuts currently in the bill are wimpy and anemic,” Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) told Fox News on Sunday, echoing Musk’s criticism.
The contrast is stark: DOGE’s modest savings versus the bill’s massive spending increases that independent analysts say could add as much as $5 trillion to the deficit.
‘DEBT SLAVERY’ REALITY
Musk’s warning about “debt slavery” reflects a grim mathematical reality. As interest payments consume an ever-larger share of federal revenue, the government’s ability to fund basic services will evaporate.
Right now, the Treasury pays about $2.6 billion per day, on average, for interest. Unless course is changed, that will rocket to $4.9 billion per day by 2035.
At that point, Musk’s nightmare scenario becomes reality – with virtually all government revenue going to pay interest to bondholders, leaving nothing for the programs Americans depend on.
THE BOTTOM LINE
As senators prepare to debate the bill, Musk’s intervention has thrown a political grenade into proceedings. The man who helped elect Trump is now his most vocal critic on the signature legislation.
This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk declared, adding ominously: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.
With the national debt already at $36 trillion and interest payments devouring more than a third of tax revenue, Musk’s warning about America’s descent into “debt slavery” may not be hyperbole – it may be prophecy.
Image credit: Elon Musk by Gage Skidmore 2 by Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
