Tesla CEO Elon Musk
Elon Musk has made several posts on social media criticizing a top White House adviser for US President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policies, bypassing the adviser and making a personal appeal directly to Trump.
Two people familiar with the matter confirmed the incident on condition of anonymity. Although the effort has not yet been successful. Trump imposed another 50 percent tariff on Chinese goods on Tuesday. Although he has indicated that he is willing to negotiate some aspects of the tariff policy.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk posted a video on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), in which he highlighted the positive aspects of the late conservative economist Milton Friedman's international trade cooperation.
He explains that the market system is driven by the price of goods, not personal relationships. Even the materials for a simple wooden pencil have to be sourced from all over the world.
Musk's disagreement with Trump over the US administration's top priorities is being seen as the biggest dispute between the president and one of his top advisers to date. Elon Musk poured nearly $290 million into supporting Trump and other Republicans in last year's US presidential election.
Elon Musk on Saturday took aim at White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a key US administration official in the Trump administration's tariff plan, questioning his qualifications.
Musk has been leading cost-cutting efforts as head of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) since Trump took office. Musk has also disagreed with other members of the Trump administration on issues such as the H-1B visa for skilled immigrants and DOGE's approach to government spending.
Elon Musk on Saturday took aim at White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a key US administration official in the Trump administration's tariff plan, questioning his qualifications.
In X, he wrote disparagingly, "Getting a PhD from Harvard University is a bad thing, not a good thing."
Navarro did not respond to a request for comment.
White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt said in a statement, “The President has assembled an extraordinary team of highly talented and experienced individuals who bring diverse ideas to the table.”
But they also know that Trump will make the final decision. When he makes a decision, everyone follows the same path to implement it. That's why the current administration has done more in two months than the previous administration did in four years.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in an interview over the weekend that Musk had said he wanted to see a free trade area between Europe and the United States.
According to Musk, "At the end of the day, I think everyone agrees that the United States and Europe should be on the same path ideologically. And that, in my view, is moving toward a tariff-free environment."
Musk also said he wants more freedom for people to travel between countries in the United States and Europe, as well as to work in the country of their choice if they want. "That was definitely my advice to the president," he said.
Analysts say Musk, the chief executive of electric car maker Tesla, has been calling tariffs detrimental to the business goals of companies that consider both the United States and China as production and consumer hubs. Although the new tariffs will hurt other automakers more.
But Musk has been opposing the tariffs since at least Trump's first term, when Musk's company filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the tariffs on Tesla imports from China.
In 2020, Tesla's top executives wanted the company to sue the Trump administration for imposing tariffs on China. Musk initially agreed, saying that parts of Trump's tariff policy were unfair to automakers.
But after Tesla filed the lawsuit in September 2020, Musk reacted “very negatively” to the decision, even rebuking some people for suggesting the lawsuit.
A person familiar with the matter said that right-wing accounts on Twitter were saying that Musk was trying to curry favor with the Chinese and was going against Trump's "America First" agenda.
Two sources said many business and technology leaders who supported Trump as a presidential candidate last year were surprised by his decision to impose higher tariffs and were equally disappointed that they were unable to exert more influence over the policy.
Musk's inner circle appealed directly to Vice President J.D. Vance, Musk's friends in the Trump administration, and others, arguing that they favored a reasonable free trade policy rather than tariffs.
Musk's friend and investor Joe Lonsdale wrote in a post on X that he recently told "friends in the administration" that the tariffs would hurt US companies more than Chinese companies.
A group of business leaders worked over the weekend to form an informal group that would lobby members of the Trump administration for more moderate policies, a member of the group said.
The business leaders said many supported Trump in last year's presidential election despite knowing that Trump's long-promised imposition of high tariffs could be devastating for the tech industry and the overall economy.
They thought that after becoming president, the advisors might be able to influence Trump and shake his thinking.
Business leaders did not expect US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was a key contact in the Trump administration for Musk, to be such a strong supporter of Trump's protectionist policies.
Musk, the world's richest man, has been at odds with the president and influential advisers over his resignation, just weeks before the world's richest man announced his resignation from the US administration. The situation comes at a time when Musk's Tesla is facing increasing pressure on demand.
It is believed that the company's involvement in politics has had a negative impact on demand.
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