Elon Musk’s Fake Outrage Over the “big Beautiful Bill” Is Just Brand Rehab With a Side of Hypocrisy

Elon Musk is fuming again, publicly, performatively, and predictably. His target this time? A sweeping piece of Trumpian federal legislation packed with funding for tech, infrastructure, and green energy. Musk is stomping through X (formerly Twitter), howling about government overreach, regulation killing innovation, and the supposed death of free enterprise.

But peel back the rage, and what you really see is a billionaire desperately trying to inject life back into a losing brand, one tweet at a time.

Musk’s Empire Is Built on Government Money

Let’s get something straight: Elon Musk’s companies wouldn’t exist in their current form without government funding.

• Tesla received a $465 million loan from the Department of Energy in 2010 under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program [source: DOE].

• SolarCity, which merged with Tesla in 2016, benefited from federal tax credits and state incentives, including $750 million in New York subsidies to build the now-flailing Buffalo gigafactory [source: Reuters].

• SpaceX has landed more than $15 billion in NASA and DoD contracts over the last decade, with more awarded regularly [source: Government Accountability Office].

And yet here’s Musk, playing the role of anti-government rebel while raking in billions from the very system he pretends to oppose.

Brand in Decline? Cue the Outrage

Why the sudden uptick in outrage? Because Musk’s once-pristine brand is cracking under the weight of his own decisions.

• Tesla’s stock is down nearly 30% year-over-year (as of mid-2025), and it’s losing market share to Chinese EV manufacturers like BYD [source: Bloomberg].

• X (Twitter) has lost over 60% of its ad revenues since Musk's takeover, with major brands like Disney, Coca-Cola, and Apple pulling out [ Axios, WSJ].

• His approval rating among Gen Z and millennials, once key Tesla demographics, has plummeted, particularly after repeated far-right engagements, misinformation amplification, and attacks on journalists [source: Pew Research, March 2025].

So what does Elon do? The same thing every populist billionaire does when their relevance slips: he feigns outrage, picks a fight with Washington, and acts like he’s being silenced.

Elon Musk wants you to think he’s a renegade. A freedom-loving, regulation-smashing visionary. A lone genius standing bravely against bloated bureaucracy and “woke” Washington.

But here’s the truth: Elon Musk is the government’s favorite welfare king; a man who rants about tyranny by day and signs billion-dollar federal contracts by night.

A Pentagon Pet Project

While Musk screams on X (formerly Twitter) about how the government is killing innovation, his companies are swimming in taxpayer money:

• In 2025 alone, SpaceX scored a $6 billion contract from the Department of Defense, supplementing the $16 billion already lining their launchpads. [Daily Beast]

• SpaceX also secured roughly 28 launches under the NSSL Phase 3 program, becoming the Pentagon’s go-to for satellite deployment.

• Oh, and let’s not forget the Starshield project—SpaceX’s military satellite network that makes Musk not just a government contractor, but a key component of U.S. surveillance infrastructure.

Yet somehow, we’re supposed to believe he’s the anti-establishment guy.

The $400 Million Cybertruck Shell Game

It gets better. The State Department, in 2025, included Tesla in a $400 million procurement forecast for armored electric vehicles—specifically, Cybertrucks with military-grade modifications. [TIME, The Sun]

When the press caught wind of this potential handout to the richest man on Earth (who also happened to dine at Mar-a-lago to run a federal department, more on that in a minute), the contract language was suspiciously sanitized; “Tesla” was swapped for “Armored Electric Vehicles.”

That’s not transparency. That’s grift covered in government camouflage.

Starlink Swallows the Sky

Meanwhile, Starlink is creeping into federal infrastructure, with the FAA reportedly eyeing it to replace a $2.4 billion communications contract previously held by Verizon. [Sen. Warren’s Office Report]

So while Musk pretends to be punished by The Deep State, he’s actually replacing legacy contractors and absorbing federal telecom budgets like some kind of tech-flavored Borg.

While Musk screams about government tyranny, his companies are still aggressively lobbying in D.C.

• Tesla spent $1.5 million on federal lobbying in 2024 alone, primarily aimed at shaping EV tax credits, emissions standards, and charging infrastructure rules [source: OpenSecrets.org].

• SpaceX lobbyists are pushing for billions more in defense and satellite contracts, including Starlink integration in military operations.

The truth is, Musk needs the Big Beautiful Bill. He just doesn’t want to share credit. He wants to bash the bill in public while benefiting from it in private, an old playbook for someone who has always wanted to be seen as a rogue innovator, not a government contractor in a hoodie.

Tariffs as Leverage for Starlink Sales

Lesotho: In April 2025, following the U.S. imposition of a 50% tariff on Lesotho, the country granted Starlink a 10-year operating license. This move was seen as an attempt to demonstrate goodwill during trade negotiations with the U.S.

Bangladesh: After facing the threat of U.S. tariffs, Bangladesh expedited regulatory approvals for Starlink. Reports indicate that Bangladeshi officials met with Elon Musk during trade discussions, suggesting that Starlink's approval was linked to favorable trade terms. Washington Post

Cambodia and Vietnam: Both countries, under the pressure of potential U.S. tariffs, moved to facilitate Starlink's entry into their markets. Internal communications reveal that U.S. embassies encouraged these nations to approve Starlink as a means to improve trade relations.

India: India granted regulatory approval to Starlink amidst broader trade discussions with the U.S. The approval is perceived as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral trade ties and avoid potential tariffs.

This isn’t about principles. It’s about optics.

• It’s about shifting the conversation away from failing ventures and declining relevance.

• It’s about reigniting the Musk Myth: the lone genius fighting corrupt elites.

• It’s about preserving influence, even if it means torching facts, playing culture war games, and gaslighting the public.

He’s not angry that the government is spending money. He’s angry that he’s not the sole gatekeeper anymore.

Final Thought

Elon Musk wants to be seen as both Atlas and Prometheus—carrying the world on his back while being punished for giving it fire. In reality, he’s more like a well-funded Icarus: soaring on wings made of subsidies and outrage, drifting dangerously close to irrelevance, trying to shout his way back into orbit.

Don't mistake the meltdown for a mission. It’s not a revolution. It’s just a PR reboot for a brand that’s running out of believers.