Elon Musk admits Trump’s plans will collapse the U.S. economy, says that it’s necessary for everyday Americans to experience “temporary hardship”

Musk says everyday Americans must embrace the pain if Trump gets back in the Oval Office

Elon Musk has offered a sobering preview of Donald Trump’s economic plan for America if he is re-elected, revealing that a period of intentional “temporary hardship” is on the horizon for American households. Rather than cautioning against it, Musk described this hardship as necessary and inevitable, supporting Trump’s blueprint for restructuring the economy by slashing government programs. Musk’s remarks, shared in a Telephone Town Hall organized by his America PAC, indicate that he and Trump see economic pain to average Americans as a necessary cost of their policy goals.

“We have to reduce spending to live within our means. And that necessarily involves some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long-term prosperity,” Musk stated in the call, fully endorsing the strain Trump’s policies would place on Americans. Musk’s words make it clear that the disruption is not an unintended side effect but an accepted—if not desired—outcome. The billionaire went further by responding to an X (formerly Twitter) user who anticipated a market downturn if Trump’s aggressive policies, including mass deportations and extreme deficit cuts, were enacted. The user predicted that with Trump and Musk in charge, the U.S. economy—dependent on debt and vulnerable to asset bubbles—would face a severe reaction before stabilizing under the intended austerity. Musk’s response was a simple acknowledgment: “Sounds about right.”

Trump has said he would appoint Musk to lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” an agency that Musk would use to “trim the fat” from government operations and, presumably, enact sweeping cuts to public programs. The department, referred to by the acronym DOGE is a nod to Musk’s favored meme cryptocurrency.

While previous leaders have avoided openly endorsing policies that might hurt working Americans, Musk’s comments reveal a different approach, where short-term pain is not only acknowledged but welcomed. Critics argue that this plan—prioritizing austerity over growth—could destabilize the economy and deepen inequality, impacting essential services for millions of families who rely on public support. But Musk and Trump’s perspective appears to frame these hardships as collateral damage in a broader strategy for “long-term prosperity.”

Meanwhile, under the Biden-Harris administration, the U.S. economy has seen record growth. This month, The Economist called the U.S. economy “the envy of the world” amid historic growth, low unemployment, and the lowest inflation of any nation in the G7. The major stock market continue to hit record highs on a near daily basis. Yet Trump and Musk want to replace this prosperity with pain.