Trump's "Big Bill" and AI "License to Kill"

How do you know that things are very serious? Kanye is the voice of reason. It’s not a joke. He’s urging his “bros” to come to their senses on X with the power of love.

The situation between Trump and Elon is escalating so quickly and unpredictably that by the time I’m done writing this story, Putin may jump on the peacemaker bandwagon, not the other way around. I wanted to write about how Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will have a big impact on tech. Now, I feel pressured to share it as soon as possible before the events take me on stranger tides.

The beautiful bill is no longer (only) big. It’s “one of the Greatest Bills presented to Congress.” I couldn’t help wondering, what in the world does this bill have to do with Elon Musk?

“The bill, as written, makes big changes to the Biden-era EV tax credits, which are intended to encourage more Americans to buy electric vehicles. It would largely phase out the clean vehicle credit, which lets people buying a new EV claim up to $7,500, and up to $4,000 for used EVs. Electric vehicles would no longer qualify for the tax credit if the automaker sold more than 200,000 previously qualifying EVs between December 31, 2009, and December 31, 2025, if the bill became law. Tesla delivered more than 336,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Musk has previously said eliminating the EV tax credit would devastate Tesla's competitors and affect the automaker as well.”

Talking about Tesla. This week was far from nice, electric dreams:

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\ Did Elon leave DOGE because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA)? Or, did Trump dodge a “bullet” that hit the “Wall of Receipts?” I don’t know. I’m not an expert.

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Wait a minute. There are some little things that don’t necessarily qualify, but motivate me - big time. Back in 2022, I won a “Noonie” in the Elon Musk category. My heart goes out to you, Elon. Two years later, I won an award in an AI writing contest. And, that’s worth writing about. So, forget about the Trump-Musk bromance for a moment. They’ll be just fine. You know, pragmatism over idealism, but not over egoism.

What’s this supposed to mean?

No State or political subdivision thereof may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

\ Is this generous or dangerous? Or both?

“In essence, the Republican Party is offering Big Tech a lavish gift: a decade-long immunity from state-level AI regulations. The consequences could be dire for innovation and public trust in technology. Without transparent, ethical oversight that ensures public accountability, control over AI systems will rest solely in corporate boardrooms.”

You don’t say:

“So far, AI regulation in the US has been largely light touch. All deployed models have gone unchecked — and in many ways, this is a natural way of doing things. Technology is always swifter than regulations. The US is also feeling the heat of the global AI race, especially from Chinese competitors. Concerned about national security, threatened lawmakers and party officials are eager not to get in the way of Big Tech. By blocking state-level regulation, the bill all but guarantees Big Tech’s continued entrenchment in the artificial intelligence industry. OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Amazon and Google each made well over $1 billion in revenue in 2024. No other company surpassed $100 million. Without fair standards or open ecosystems, smaller players and startups are left to fend for themselves in a rigged game. The absence of oversight doesn’t create a level playing field. Rather, it cements the advantages of those already at the top.”

To sweeten the deal, I mean the bill, “President Donald Trump wasted little time in announcing the Stargate Initiative, a $500 billion private sector deal to expand U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure. Spearheaded by tech giants OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, Stargate represents the largest AI infrastructure project in history.”

In other words, Big Tech. Checked. Big Money. Checked. Big AI. In progress.

Wait, where’s xAI in Stargate Initiative? It seems that Elon wasn’t invited to the party.

“When Trump announced the $500bn US Stargate joint venture, Musk publicly criticized the project and disputed whether it could raise the funds. Elon Musk reportedly sought to block OpenAI's involvement in a massive data center campus in the United Arab Emirates.”

So, Elon went publicly and aggressively on both: Stargate and Big Bill. The outcome was far from beautiful for Musk.

When I think about it, Trump never returned to X/Twitter for real.

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\ Can you imagine Elon suspending Trump on X, in a multiverse without Truth Social? Just thought of a big and arguably beautiful tweet: if Trump gets Xed, then Musk may get ICEd.

I think that I’ve just experienced a Freudian slip. I was about to wrap it up with Peter Thiel, but instead of Palantir, I typed Palpatine. What’s that supposed to mean? Well, if you know, you know.