Musk attacks Navarro after explanation of tariffs

Donald Trump’s tariff plan has not been sitting well with Elon Musk, for obvious reasons.

Now Musk is picking a fight with Trump’s top economic adviser, and this is ramping up for a White House showdown that could have Musk leaving the administration sooner rather than later.

Don’t Like It

When Musk was first asked about the tariffs, he tried to be as delicate as possible in pushing back.

He 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.”

Since Trump has been in office, Tesla has been getting hammered on its stock price, and the tariffs are only going to hurt the company more, so I can see why Musk does not like them.

What I did not expect, however, was Musk to go to war with other Trump officials over this.

Stay In Your Lane

White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro has been all over the media since the tariffs were announced to try justify Trump’s strategy.

In addition to saying that the tariffs could generate $600 billion a year over the next decade, Navarro took a shot at Musk.

He stated, “Elon, when he’s in his DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] lane is great, but we understand what’s going on here. Elon sells cars. He’s simply protecting his own interests.

“And he’s in Texas assembling cars that have big parts of that car from Mexico, China — the batteries come from Japan or China; the electronics come from Taiwan.”

Musk Fires Back

Navarro tried to diffuse this, adding, “There’s no rift here. Look, Elon, he’s got X, he’s got a big microphone. We don’t mind him saying whatever he wants.” However, Musk was having none of it.

As Navarro’s appearance was blowing up all over social media, Musk commented, “A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing. Results in the ego/brains>>1 problem.”

Musk had also posted, “He ain’t built sh*t,” but he deleted that comment not long after posting it.

I have to imagine Trump’s Chief of Staff is watching this and counting down the days until Musk has to leave his post. Trump has to step in here, as this open bickering among Trump officials is not good for business, and Musk should know better than to engage like this. Once again, the administration seems to be its own worst enemy.