Musk appears to break with Trump on tariffs

Last week, Trump upset the apple cart with his tariff plan, which received criticism and applause on both sides of the aisle.

Shockingly, one of the voices of opposition was Elon Musk, which I never would have expected.

The Trump plan

Trump likes to use tariffs as a negotiating tool, and this is something he has wanted to do for quite some time.

The United States sees tariffs from many countries that are not charged tariffs here, but that all just ended.

In announcing his sweeping changes, Trump stated, “Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years. But it is not going to happen anymore.”

As expected, the stock market crashed, going down about 4,000 points over two days, with another drop on Monday, albeit nowhere near what the experts had been predicting.

Musk breaks with Trump

Later in the week, Musk was asked about the tariff plan, and he appeared to distance himself from it.

Musk stated, "At the end of the day, 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.”

He added, "If people wish to work in Europe or wish to work in North America, they should be allowed to do so in my view.”

Trump has reportedly already received calls from dozens of nations that want to discuss a deal, which is my guess as to why the market started to level off late Monday.

Not alone

Musk was far from being alone among Trump’s highest profile supporters, but one of those voices truly surprised me, that being Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) who has fallen in line behind Trump after getting trounced by Trump in the 2016 race.

Cruz stated, "Tariffs are a tax on consumers, and I'm not a fan of jacking up taxes on American consumers, so my hope is these tariffs are short-lived, and they serve as leverage to lower tariffs across the globe.” He later added, "If we're in a scenario 30 days from now, 60 days from now, 90 days from now with massive American tariffs and massive tariffs on American goods in every other country on Earth, it's a terrible outcome.”

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has called tariffs a fallacy, adding, "Tariffs are taxes and Americans are paying the price.” Paul has also openly opposed the upcoming budget legislation, drawing the ire of Trump in the process.

I have voiced my concerns about this plan repeatedly, but I have also asked everyone to remain calm and give this some time to play out. I still believe this will all work out, but I also believe we are going to feel some pain in the process. For now, be patient, and if I think the plan is going down, believe me, I will be the first one to let you know.