Severe Criticism of Navarro, Social Media Support for Trade, Private Chats with Trump: Musk’s Unreserved Opposition to Trump’s Tariffs
This article originates from the piece written by Wall Street Watch, reprinted by Foresight News.
(Background: Trump imposes a 104% tariff on China! Bitcoin plummets by 75,000, Dow Jones opens up 1,400 points before falling, S&P loses the 5,000-point mark)
(Supplementary Background: Foreign media reports that Musk “secretly lobbyed Trump” to withdraw the tariffs but was unsuccessful, clashing with White House trade advisor: “There’s something wrong with his head.”)
Musk’s “Open Rebellion”
Musk has been openly defiant, showing no hesitation in expressing his opposition to the tariffs, which has led to a gradual escalation of his differences with Trump. On Tuesday morning Eastern Time, Musk responded to White House trade advisor Navarro, who referred to him as a “car assembler.” Musk asserted, “By any definition, Tesla is the most vertically integrated car manufacturer in America, with the highest proportion of ‘American content.’ Navarro should ask his imaginary expert, Ron Vara.”
Musk harshly criticized Navarro, calling him “really an idiot”: “He is really an idiot, and what he says is obviously wrong. Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a bag of bricks.”
After attacking White House senior advisor Navarro twice on X over the weekend, mocking his Harvard PhD in economics as “a bad thing, not a good thing,” media sources claim Musk has bypassed these officials and directly appealed to Trump himself. However, according to two insiders, Musk’s attempts at intervention have so far been unsuccessful. Prior to this, Musk had already publicly expressed dissatisfaction with Trump’s protectionist policies. Last Saturday, during a virtual address at an Italian far-right political conference, he explicitly stated: “I wish that the U.S. and the EU could ‘move toward a zero-tariff state and effectively establish a free trade area.'” On Monday, Musk also shared a video on X featuring renowned economist Milton Friedman discussing free trade from 1980, and although no accompanying text was provided, his opposition to tariffs was self-evident. In the video, Friedman vividly illustrated the importance of global trade cooperation by explaining the international production process of a simple pencil.
Not only Musk himself, but also many individuals in the U.S. business and tech sectors plan to take action, calling for more reasonable policies.
The “Musk Circle” Struggles to Accept High Tariffs
According to insiders, many business and tech leaders who supported Trump’s campaign are shocked by the president’s decision to impose such high tariffs, and they feel disappointed that they cannot exert more influence over the policies. Individuals within Musk’s circle have lobbied friends in the Trump administration, including Vice President Pence, urging them to adopt more reasonable free trade policies. It is reported that some business leaders formed an informal group over the weekend, planning to lobby the Trump administration for milder policies. These individuals supported Trump last year, even though they were aware that the long-promised high tariff policy could be destructive to the tech industry and the economy as a whole. They had believed that advisors like Treasury Secretary Mnuchin could persuade Trump to adopt a softer stance. However, they did not expect that Musk’s key contact within Trump’s circle, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, would become a staunch supporter of protectionist policies.
Amid Political and Business Conflicts, Tesla’s Stock Price “Suffers”
As political and business conflicts intensify, the one bearing the “unbearable weight” is Tesla’s stock price. So far this year, Tesla’s stock has fallen by as much as 38%.
Investment bank Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives has lowered Tesla’s stock target price from $550 to $315, reflecting these “new expectations of weaker demand”: “Tesla has essentially become a political symbol globally… This is very detrimental to the future and brand crisis of this disruptive tech giant.” Musk’s brother, Tesla board member Kimbal Musk, also sharply criticized the president’s tariff policy on Monday: “Who would have thought that Trump is actually the highest-taxed president in generations… Through his tariff strategy, Trump has imposed a structural, permanent tax on American consumers.”
