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America’s debt bill has grown so large that even the world’s richest man, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, sounded less like a tech mogul and more like someone warning the country its financial engine was starting to smoke.

“A country is no different from a person,” Musk said during a Fox News interview in 2025. “If a country overspends and doesn’t spend wisely, just like a person, the country will go bankrupt.”

He said corruption, waste, and unchecked spending were pushing the country toward dangerous territory.

“The reason I’m here is because I’m very worried about America going bankrupt due to the corruption and waste,” Musk told Fox News. “And if we don’t do something about it, the ship of America is going to sink. And we’re all on that ship.”

The Numbers Behind Musk’s Warning Still Look Massive

When Musk made the comments last year, the federal government was already running deficits near $1.8 trillion annually. Fiscal year 2025 ultimately closed with a deficit of roughly $1.8 trillion, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.

The numbers now are not much better.

The CBO and other fiscal watchdog groups project fiscal year 2026 deficits to land around $1.9 trillion, with some estimates climbing above $2 trillion. In just the first six months of fiscal year 2026, the federal government had already borrowed about $1.2 trillion.

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Interest payments are becoming an even bigger issue. Recent projections show annual interest costs on the national debt topping $1 trillion, meaning more taxpayer money is being spent servicing existing debt instead of funding government programs or infrastructure.