Tesla owner Elon Musk warns 'If the trade deficit isn't controlled, America will go bankrupt'

Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned that the US will go bankrupt if it doesn't control its trade deficit while criticizing the spending of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“I think the average taxpaying American should be mad as hell because their tax money is being poorly spent," said Musk, criticizing the USAID spending.

“...The overall goal is to try to get a trillion dollars out of the deficit. And if the deficit is not brought under control, America will go bankrupt. This is very important for people to understand. A country is no different from an individual, in that if an individual overspends, an individual can go bankrupt, and so can a country. And the out, the massive waste, fraud, and abuse that has been going on, which is leading to a $2 trillion-a-year deficit—that’s what the President was handed on January 20, 2025, a $2 trillion deficit,” he said.

President Trump agreed, saying, “Yes, we inherited it.” He said that inflation is back, but he has nothing to do with it, as the Democrats ran the country for the last 4 years.

“These people have run the country. They spent money like nobody has ever spent. They were given $9 trillion to throw out the window — $9 trillion, and they spent it on the Green New Scam, I call it. It’s the greatest scam in the history of the country,” Trump said.

Trump appreciated Musk's “amazing job” with the DOGE while noting that there are “hundreds of billions of dollars worth of fraud” in the system.

"They’re finding billions and it will be hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of fraud. I say waste and abuse, but fraud, waste, and abuse... He attracts a young, very smart type of person. I call them high-IQ individuals, and they are very high IQ. And when they go in to see the people and talk to these people—the people think they’re going to pull it over. They don’t. These guys are smart, and they love the country. You know, there’s a certain something. But he uses the word “care.” So, people have to care,” Trump said in the interview.

Musk also responded to the criticism faced by Democrats over DOGE cuts. He blamed the bureaucracy for not allowing the implementation of presidential orders.

"We are trying to restore the will of the people through the President and if the will of the President, who is the representative of the people, is not implemented, it implies that they do not live in a democracy but bureaucracy, Musk said.

Both Musk and Trump "expressed gushing admiration for each other in which each accused a critical media of trying to drive them apart," reported The Guardian.

Calling himself the tech support for Trump, Musk said, “I’m a technologist, and I try to make technologies that– improve the world and make life better… I’m here to provide the President with technology support…."

"It’s a very important thing because the president will make these executive orders, which are very sensible and good for the country, but then they don’t get implemented,” he added.

Meanwhile, Trump responded that Musk's plans for Tesla to open a factory in India would be 'very unfair’.
He has repeatedly claimed that countries across the globe exploit the US through tariffs.

“...every country in the world takes advantage of us, and they do it with tariffs. They make — make it — it’s impossible for him to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I think," he said during the interview with Sean Hannity.

Musk agreed with the President, saying, “ The tariffs are like 100% import duty.”

Following PM Modi's recent visit to the US, Tesla began its hiring process in India indicating that Tesla might be renewing its intention to enter India, unlike last year.

Musk has been pointing out India’s high import duties for years, calling them a major barrier to Tesla’s expansion in the country.