Rumors of $8,000 stimulus checks from the U.S. government have been swirling on social media. The cause? An X exchange featuring Elon Musk. First, “anti-woke investor” and Azoria CEO James Fishback floated the idea of a “DOGE Dividend” tax refund, paid for by the savings from DOGE. Elon’s response, “Will check with the President,” lit an immediate fire of speculation. These hopes were spurred on by those misunderstanding the Child and Dependent Care Credit. While the credit can reduce tax liability by as much as $8,000, it doesn’t give you that money. Here’s why the $8,000 stimulus checks are just a rumor.
Elon Fuels Rumors $8,000 Stimulus Checks in 2025
Three stimulus checks went out to help Americans during the Covid pandemic. A small number of people, however, never received their payments or only received partial payments. The IRS previously announced that there were approximately 1 million taxpayers who failed to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 return. They therefore have yet to receive that money. The IRS hasn’t announced $8,000 stimulus checks for 2025, however. As much as that money would help those struggling while the rich get richer, there’s zero reason to think that’s what Trump and Musk will do.
A TikTok video on the subject by @heydave garnered over 59k likes and numerous comments. Most in the comment section agreed about two things: the checks would be great but will never come. As one commenter said,
$8000 would be nice, but not going to happen
There’s every indication that’s the right conclusion. Aggressive spending cuts and freezes are the cornerstone of the Trump / Musk agenda. Defunding welfare programs, firing federal workers, and forcing struggling Americans to tighten their belts even further? All of that helps solidify power for Trump and his oligarch allies. Sending $8,000 stimulus checks to all Americans would cost well over $2 trillion, and that’s exactly the opposite of Trump and Musk’s slash-and-burn fiscal policy. If anyone is going to lift the yoke of capitalism off of struggling Americans, it likely won’t be the billionaires.
