Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / ‘Truly a moron’: Elon Musk escalates spat with Peter Navarro over Trump tariffs

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‘Truly a moron’: Elon Musk escalates spat with Peter Navarro over Trump tariffs · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Why has the billionaire bad boy Elon Musk created a rare
• 0:05
  political rift in public view between two prominent figures
• 0:10
  himself and President Donald Trump?
• 0:14
  Now? The tension exploded online, but
• 0:16
  it stemmed from behind the scenes efforts by Musk to halt
• 0:19
  sweeping new tariffs on Chinese imports.
• 0:22
  For someone who poured nearly $290,000,000 into helping Trump
• 0:25
  in the GOP in the last election cycle, Musk's sharp pivot isn't
• 0:29
  just a disagreement. It's a full blown conflict that
• 0:33
  challenges assumptions about his power now.
• 0:36
  Musk's efforts weren't subtle, though.
• 0:39
  While I'm basting Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro in a
• 0:42
  series of blistering ex posts, Musk was also working channels
• 0:46
  behind the scenes, reaching out to President Donald Trump
• 0:50
  directly. According to two individuals
• 0:52
  familiar with the matter, Musk had been making personal pleas
• 0:55
  to the president to reverse his administration's decision to
• 0:59
  impose tariffs of up to 34% on Chinese imports, with another
• 1:05
  round of 50% tariffs looming. So far, those appeals have
• 1:10
  failed Elon. Now, what makes this all more
• 1:14
  dramatic is how public Elon has made his case.
• 1:17
  He posted a video of Milton Friedman, the late economist
• 1:20
  known for promoting free market policies, arguing in favor of
• 1:24
  international cooperation via trade.
• 1:27
  The video included. Friedman's famous breakdown of a
• 1:30
  simple Pencil's global supply chain was a clear rebuke of
• 1:34
  Trump's new tariffs in a challenge to the protectionist
• 1:37
  philosophy driving them. The Trump is not directly
• 1:40
  responded to Elon Musk's pleas online, but his administration
• 1:43
  has pressed forward. In a statement, White House
• 1:47
  press secretary Karen Levitt stood by the administration's
• 1:50
  actions, saying when he makes a decision, everyone rose in the
• 1:54
  same direction to execute. That's why this administration
• 1:57
  has done more in two months than the previous admin did in four
• 2:01
  years. Not everyone is running in the
• 2:04
  same direction, though. Musk launched sharp criticisms
• 2:07
  toward Navarro, calling him a moron and Dumber than a sack of
• 2:10
  bricks after Navarro appeared on CNBC and downplayed Musk's role
• 2:15
  in manufacturing, calling him more of a car assembler.
• 2:19
  You know, Elon Musk was pretty pissed off.
• 2:22
  He said Tesla is the most vertically integrated auto
• 2:24
  manufacturer in America with the highest percentage of US
• 2:27
  content. He ended one post an X saying
• 2:33
  Ron Vara, a fictional trade expert Navarro reportedly
• 2:37
  invented as a character in his books.
• 2:39
  And he said Navarro should ask the fake expert he invented, Ron
• 2:44
  Vara. You switch those letters around,
• 2:47
  it spells Navarro. He made it up, though.
• 2:51
  It's not the first time Musk has clashed with Trump era trade
• 2:54
  policies. Back in 2020, Musk's Tesla sued
• 2:57
  the Trump administration over tariffs on parts imported from
• 3:00
  China. When the lawsuit gained
• 3:02
  traction, Musk pulled away, upset at how it might be
• 3:06
  perceived politically. He reportedly lashed out at
• 3:09
  employees who had pushed for the lawsuit after a conservative
• 3:12
  voice is accused him of siding with China.
• 3:14
  Now, this matters for two big reasons.
• 3:17
  First, it exposes how even those with direct access to political
• 3:20
  power can struggle to shape outcomes that affect their own
• 3:23
  businesses. And Musk isn't just any CEO,
• 3:26
  though. These companies rely on the
• 3:28
  global supply chains, especially for EV components and rare earth
• 3:32
  minerals. Tariffs that restrict these
• 3:35
  trade routes directly affect Tesla's ability to manufacture
• 3:39
  affordably and competitively. Second, the spat reveals growing
• 3:44
  cracks within the conservative coalition, especially on issues
• 3:47
  like free trade, immigration and federal spending.
• 3:51
  The consequences of Trump's new tariffs are not abstract, though
• 3:54
  Musk's long argued the tariffs are functionally attacks on
• 3:58
  American consumers. His brother Kimball Musk echoed
• 4:01
  that this week, rating on X. Who would have thought that
• 4:05
  Trump was actually the most high tax American president in
• 4:08
  generations? His point here?
• 4:11
  Tariffs raise prices domestically while failing to
• 4:14
  effectively punish foreign producers.
• 4:17
  Kimball's comments came weeks after publicly appraising Trump
• 4:20
  at a White House event featuring Tesla's, showing how rapidly the
• 4:25
  loyalties in that party have shifted.
• 4:29
  Tesla's already feeling the impact, though.
• 4:31
  The stock prices dropped, the target was 550, and now it's
• 4:36
  3:15. There's weaker demand and
• 4:38
  increased political risk. Tesla has essentially become a
• 4:42
  political symbol globally. That's a very bad thing for Elon
• 4:46
  Musk in the future of the tech that they're building.
• 4:49
  It's disruptive and it's a crisis going on right now for
• 4:54
  Tesla and Elon. The Tesla shares dropped more
• 4:57
  than 2.5% on Monday, closing at $233.29.
• 5:01
  They're back up now, but for the year, the Tesla stock has lost
• 5:06
  38% of value, not going up into the right anymore.
• 5:09
  Everything's calm down. Everything went down when Elon
• 5:14
  joined Trump. The Musk's criticism extend
• 5:17
  beyond trade policy. He's also disagreed with other
• 5:21
  aspects of Trump's platform, including the treatment of
• 5:24
  skilled immigration under H1B visa and the cost trimming
• 5:28
  measures imposed at the US Department of Government
• 5:30
  Efficiency, where he played a leadership role.
• 5:33
  Now, his departure from the post is expected in a few weeks for
• 5:37
  the signaling a cooling of relations with the Trump camp.
• 5:42
  Now, at the core of Musk's argument is a call for
• 5:44
  international cooperation. During a conversation with
• 5:47
  Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini over the weekend,
• 5:50
  Musk pushed for a free trade zone between the US and Europe.
• 5:54
  The end of the day, I hope it's agreed that both Europe and the
• 5:57
  United States should move ideally in my view, to a zero
• 6:00
  tariff situation Elon Musk spoke about on X.
• 6:04
  He also pushed for more liberal migration policies between the
• 6:07
  two regions, saying workers should be free to live and work
• 6:10
  where they choose. He believes that countries are
• 6:14
  just a line, an imaginary line that people drew because they
• 6:18
  wanted power. Now, Musk views aren't
• 6:20
  universally shared, though, even within his own business circle.
• 6:24
  But he isn't entirely isolated either, a close friend of Musk,
• 6:29
  Joe Lonsdale, said on X in a public post.
• 6:33
  He said he had been urging friends in the administration to
• 6:36
  reconsider the tariff plan, warning that it would ultimately
• 6:39
  damage U.S. companies more than their Chinese counterparts.
• 6:42
  Lonsdale declined to elaborate on the efforts, though.
• 6:45
  But others in Musk's network were reportedly working over the
• 6:48
  weekend to form an informal group that would push back on
• 6:52
  Trump's hardline stance. Now the business community's
• 6:55
  frustration comes from feeling blindsided.
• 6:59
  Many believe that Trump, while tough in rhetoric, could be
• 7:02
  persuaded by moderate voices in his cabinet, like Treasury
• 7:05
  Secretary Scott Bassett. They were also surprised at the
• 7:09
  hard stance from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, once
• 7:13
  seen as an Elon Musk ally who emerged as a strong proponent of
• 7:17
  protectionist policies. It's not just a business
• 7:20
  disagreement, it's also a political one.
• 7:23
  Musk's increasingly vocal disapproval of Trump's direction
• 7:27
  threatens to shake up alliances within the GOP.
• 7:29
  Musk's influence as a donor and culture figure grows, so does
• 7:33
  the weight of his public criticism.
• 7:36
  It also raises questions about how much power high profile
• 7:39
  supporters actually have when the policies start to bite.
• 7:44
  Now, if you're listening to this on any podcast platform that has
• 7:46
  comments, I want you to leave me a comment below.
• 7:50
  What do you think about Trump and Elon Musk?
• 7:54
  Do you think Trump thinks Elon Musk is now some sort of traitor
• 7:58
  for going behind his back and denying his policies?
• 8:04
  It's a tough situation for Elon, a tough situation for Trump.
• 8:06
  Trump can just brush him aside. He doesn't need him anymore.
• 8:09
  He used him for the election and maybe he pushed him aside.
• 8:12
  He doesn't need him. That could be a thing.
• 8:15
  Let me know in the comments. Now.
• 8:16
  Musk may be recalibrating his public stance, though.
• 8:19
  On Monday, he posted an ex thread from the official U.S.
• 8:22
  trade Representative count, which defended the tariffs by
• 8:25
  accusing China of unfair practices.
• 8:28
  Musk added a brief good points, signaling he may be hedging or
• 8:33
  seeking a middle ground after days of intense online
• 8:35
  confrontations. Still, the rift between Musk and
• 8:38
  Trump's trade team is more than just a social media squabble.
• 8:42
  They're not teenagers here. It's a reflection of deep
• 8:44
  tensions between economic nationalism and global
• 8:47
  enterprise. Musk, who has built his empire
• 8:50
  on international cooperation in distributed manufacturing, is
• 8:55
  now clashing with a political movement he helped empower, but
• 9:00
  whose values are becoming increasingly difficult for his
• 9:03
  companies to navigate. Now the fallout from this
• 9:07
  dispute could shape the future of Tesla and also the future of
• 9:12
  Elon Musk. If he wins this and gets behind
• 9:17
  the no tariff free trade agreements and that becomes a
• 9:23
  thing in the United States and he pushes Donald Trump to the
• 9:27
  side, he could be seen as a martyr for the other side from
• 9:34
  the Democrats and liberals. But if he sticks with Donald
• 9:41
  Trump and he stays the game plan of the GOP and the MAGA
• 9:45
  movement, he could be a hero on that side too.
• 9:48
  So either way, he plays the game, he's going to win, I
• 9:52
  believe. Let me know in the comments what
• 9:54
  you think. So that's it for today,
• 9:56
  everybody. I want to make you a deal real
• 9:58
  quick. We are a tech news channel and
• 10:02
  we are the Elon Musk show. So I want to ask you for a
• 10:06
  favor, please. I just need a subscription or a
• 10:11
  follow on whatever podcast platform you're on right now.
• 10:13
  And my promise to you, this is the deal.
• 10:16
  I promise to you because I will continue to make these episodes
• 10:19
  for the next 10 years for free. There will be no walls ever for
• 10:26
  the next 10 years. I've been doing this for five
• 10:28
  years now. So I have it in my heart to
• 10:30
  continue to do this for the next 10 years with your help.
• 10:33
  So all I need from you a follow or a sub.
• 10:37
  That's it for today everybody. Let me know what you think.
• 10:39
  Take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you in the
• 10:42
  next one.