"The separation between Trump and Musk was a break up pretty much everyone saw coming. It came in part due to the Oval Office's "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act," which the tech titan said undermined the cost-cutting work of DOGE. Musk is one of many business leaders concerned by America's spending habits, with national debt now totalling more than $38 trillion."
"Economists aren't necessarily worried by the level of national debt-nations actually need it to underpin the bond market and keep the global economy moving-but they are worried about the interest payments on the debt, and how this impacts the all-important debt-to-GDP ratio. This ratio indicates how fast a country's economy is growing and as a result, its ability to be able to repay the debt or keep up with interest payments on the borrowing."
"Musk seems to think that the latter is the best option, via a new age of growth unlocked by AI. "As long as civilization keeps advancing, we will have AI and robotics at very large scale," Musk told Nikhil Kamath's podcast in an episode aired yesterday. "I think that's pretty much the only thing that's going to solve the U.S. debt crisis.""
Elon Musk invested heavily in President Trump's campaign, launched a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and later fell out with the White House after criticizing the Oval Office's "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" for undermining DOGE's cost-cutting. U.S. national debt exceeds $38 trillion and interest payments are accelerating, costing $104 billion to maintain the debt as of October 2025 and totaling $1.22 trillion for FY2025. Economists emphasize concern over rising interest costs and the debt-to-GDP ratio. To rebalance the ratio, governments can cut spending or stimulate growth; Musk favors economic stimulation through large-scale AI and robotics adoption as the primary solution.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]