Politico reports:

Tesla late Wednesday criticized the Republican megabill for gutting clean energy tax credits, a message amplified by CEO Elon Musk hours after he announced he was leaving the Trump administration.

“Abruptly ending the energy tax credits would threaten America’s energy independence and the reliability of our grid,” Tesla Energy, the company’s solar and battery division, wrote on X.

The House-passed reconciliation package would repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s residential solar credit at the end of the year and rapidly phase down the clean electricity investment credit for all forms of generation except nuclear, disqualifying all but a few shovel-ready projects.

The bill would also terminate most credits for electric vehicles at the end of the year, disqualifying Teslas from a $7,500 incentive at a time when the company is experiencing declining sales and backlash linked to Musk’s actions to gut the federal workforce.

Tesla’s energy division has seen faster growth and higher profits than its vehicle business in recent years. Launched by Musk in 2015, it sells a range of solar and battery energy storage products to homeowners and utility companies.

Tesla Energy urged the Senate to support a “sensible wind down” of the residential solar and the clean electricity investment credits, which it said would allow “continued speedy deployment of over 60 [gigawatts] capacity per year to support AI and domestic manufacturing growth.”

Musk later amplified the message on his personal X account, along with a post from another user that said “slashing solar energy credits is unjust.”

“There is no change to tax incentives for oil & gas, just EV/solar,” Musk wrote.

Musk said last month that he would step back from his government role to devote more time to running Tesla, and he confirmed Wednesday that his tenure as a “special government employee” was coming to an end. [Continue reading…]

CNN reports:

Katie Miller, a top adviser and spokesperson for the Department of Government Efficiency at the White House, has left her position and is now working with Elon Musk, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Miller is working “full time” for Musk, one of the sources said. Another said she has been helping arrange Musk’s interviews that are unrelated to his time in government. This week Musk has given interviews to the Washington Post, CBS News and Ars Technica connected to SpaceX’s Starship launch.

Like several other White House advisers including Musk himself, Miller was a “Special Government Employee” which allows private sector figures to simultaneously work for the federal government but with restrictions on how many days per year can be spent on government work although that time can be extended.

Miller, who is married to Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, did not respond to a request for comment sent to her White House email, which still appears to be functioning.