Elon Musk’s disagreements with the Trump administration on tariffs have dramatically spilled into public view, a break that had been a long time coming.
While President Trump and the world’s richest man often echo each other about many of the underlying problems they see with world trade, they clearly differ on the solutions.
The new tensions emerged in a series of posts from Musk on Tuesday that saw the billionaire lob at least seven insults at Trump’s senior counselor for trade, Peter Navarro, throughout the day, including calling him “truly a moron.”
What spurred the war of words were comments from Navarro, who claimed the Tesla (TSLA) CEO dislikes tariffs because his company relies on parts from foreign countries.
“By any definition whatsoever, Tesla is the most vertically integrated auto manufacturer in America,” Musk responded.
The billionaire has, in fact, organized his company around a “gigafactory” manufacturing model — in the US as well as in Germany and China — to keep as many aspects of production in one place as possible. Among other things, it limits the amount of trading needed.
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk speak at the White House in March. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) ·ROBERTO SCHMIDT via Getty Images
Musk has often avoided commenting on tariffs, especially since coming to Washington as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
But he has long expressed his dissatisfaction with many aspects of the global trading system and barriers to trade that Trump has taken to calling non-monetary barriers.
Musk has also pushed, as he put it in comments this past weekend, for “zero-tariff” systems between places like the US and Europe.
Trump, by contrast, has long held tariffs in high regard in their own right and has rejected calls to focus on achieving zero-for-zero tariffs, instead saying other issues such as trade deficits need to change as well.
“No, it’s not,” Trump said Monday afternoon when he was asked if Europe moving its tariffs on autos and industrial goods to zero was enough to reach a deal.
All of that marks a clear schism with Musk, who, according to a Washington Post report, confronted Trump about the tariff issues over the weekend. But he was unsuccessful in moving the president.
Musk has long commented on nuisances in trade in countries that he has said hurt his businesses.
For example, Musk has posted multiple times in recent years about local value-added taxes (VATs) and the impact they have on the varying prices of Tesla cars.
“Prices in the US (of all goods) don’t include VAT, but it’s usually included in other countries,” Musk noted in 2021 about selling EVs overseas.
Trump has also made non-tariff barriers central to his pitch for trade fairness and often lists VATs first.
“For purposes of this United States Policy, we will consider Countries that use the VAT System, which is far more punitive than a Tariff, to be similar to that of a Tariff,” Trump noted on Truth Social.
Musk has also made posts approving of taking on unfair trading practices.
“Good points,” he posted just this week in response to an administration list of “10 unfair trade practices faced by American exporters.”
But Musk clearly views the areas of disagreement as more pressing now that Trump’s historic “Liberation Day” plans have been unveiled.
Musk’s flurry of insults Tuesday followed other posts in recent days that also critiqued Navarro in less blunt terms, including a video of Milton Friedman extolling the virtues of global trade and open markets.
A close ally of Musk who sits on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX has been even more vocal on the specifics of the tariff issue: his brother Kimbal.
“Through his tariff strategy, Trump has implemented a structural, permanent tax on the American consumer,” Kimbal posted this week, calling Trump the “most high tax American President in generations.”
Kimbal often amplifies his brother’s views and has posted repeatedly and pointedly about tariffs in recent days.
Tesla itself has also sent an unsigned letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, warning that tariffs could lead to retaliation from US export partners and higher prices for parts that can only be sourced internationally.
Musk has offered a similar message.
“I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk told Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini virtually at a meeting of Italy’s League Party over the weekend.
In fact, at one point in 2018 — long before they teamed up — Musk directed a message to Trump on tariffs during his first term by saying, “I am against import duties in general,” as he also agreed with Trump’s general objection at the time to foreign duties on cars.
This time around, Trump has already moved forward with a 25% tariff on foreign-made cars and auto parts. Musk was quick to say, “Tesla is NOT unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant.”
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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