Trump adviser Navarro dismisses Musk as ‘car assembler’ after tariff comments

WASHINGTON - Dr Peter Navarro, US President Donald Trump’s top trade adviser, on April 7 dismissed tech-billionaire Elon Musk’s push for “zero tariffs” between the US and Europe, calling the Tesla chief executive a “car assembler” reliant on parts from other countries.

Dr Navarro, widely seen as the architect of

Mr Trump’s tariff plans

, told CNBC that Mr Musk had done a good job with his work to streamline government, but his comments on tariffs were not surprising given his role as “car person”, the latest salvo in a growing feud between the Trump advisers.

“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, adding that many Tesla parts came from Japan, China and Taiwan. “He’s a car person. That’s what he does, and he wants the cheap foreign parts.”

Mr Musk, speaking by video link at a congress of Italy’s right-wing, co-ruling League Party just days after Mr Trump announced hefty reciprocal tariffs against nearly 60 countries, said he hoped Europe and the United States agreed to “a zero tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone.”

Mr Trump’s plans call for European Union countries to face a general tariff of 20 per cent.

Tesla has seen its quarterly sales drop sharply amid a backlash against Mr Musk’s work with a new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). The company’s shares are trading at US$227.32 on the morning of April 7, about half their 52-week high.

US share prices fell sharply again on April 7 amid recession fears and concerns about the impact of Mr Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The S&P 500 index was down more than 20 per cent from its all-time highs, putting the most closely followed benchmark for US equities on track to confirm a bear market.

Dr Navarro said he had not spoken with Mr Musk since his post on X over the weekend suggesting Dr Navarro’s “PhD in economics from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing”, but said the two men would likely see each other at the White House on April 7, adding the personal comment was “no big deal”.

He said the difference centred on Mr Trump’s push to reshore US manufacturing, while Mr Musk was reliant on foreign parts to manufacture Tesla vehicles in the US.

“The difference is in our thinking and Elon’s on this is that we want the tires made in Akron. We want the transmissions made in Indianapolis. We want the engines made in Flint and Saginaw, and we want the cars manufactured here,” Dr Navarro said. REUTERS