Musk calls trade official Navarro a ‘moron’ as Trump tariff spat gets messy
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Mr Elon Musk (left) posted criticism of senior White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on his social media platform X.
PHOTOS: AFP
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WASHINGTON – Billionaire presidential adviser Elon Musk attacked White House trade counsellor Peter Navarro as “dumber than a sack of bricks” as a fight over US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime spilled onto social media on April 8.
In a flurry of posts on his social media platform X, Mr Musk called Dr Navarro “truly a moron” and mocked the trade adviser for in the past citing the work of “Ron Vara” – a fictional expert whose name is an anagram of his own.
The missives were the latest volley in an increasingly bitter spat between the two that broke out after Mr Trump last week announced that he was imposing a minimum 10 per cent tariff
The announcement was seen as a policy win for Dr Navarro, who has advocated aggressive trade measures in hopes of helping to boost domestic manufacturing.
Shortly after the announcement, Mr Musk jabbed at Dr Navarro by saying his degree in economics from Harvard is “a bad thing, not a good thing” and criticising the trade adviser for not having built companies on his own.
Dr Navarro, in a subsequent interview with CNBC, said the criticism was not surprising from the Tesla CEO because he was a “car assembler” who used parts from other countries.
“When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House – and the American people understand – that Elon is a car manufacturer, but he’s not a car manufacturer. He’s a car assembler,” Dr Navarro said.
“He’s a car person. That’s what he does, and he wants the cheap foreign parts,” he added.
Those claims earned Mr Musk’s ire; in addition to the personal attacks, he defended Tesla as “the most vertically integrated auto manufacturer in America with the highest percentage of US content”.
The dispute within the ranks of senior Trump aides comes as many companies, nations, and trade groups have expressed frustration over the uncertainty around how to best negotiate a reduction to Mr Trump’s tariffs. The higher duties on select countries are set to go into effect after midnight.
The president has said that while he is open to making deals for the right concessions, he is seeking relief from both other countries’ tariffs and non-tariff barriers, like regulations and currency manipulation. Bloomberg
