Elon Musk lashes out at Peter Navarro for defending Trump’s tariffs after Tesla stock nosedives

WASHINGTON, DC: Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to publicly rip into White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, questioning both his credentials and real-world impact. Musk has kept mostly quiet about Trump’s tariff announcement.

Musk’s frustration came in response to a CNN interview clip where Navarro staunchly defended Trump’s tariff plan amid the worst trading week in five years. Tesla stock alone dropped 10% by Friday, April 4, costing Musk billions, Mediaite reported.

Elon Musk blasts Peter Navarro over Trump tariff defense

In a series of posts on X, Elon Musk lashed out over a CNN clip featuring Peter Navarro defending Donald Trump's tariff plan. Musk called out Navarro for not building “s**t.”

In the CNN segment, Navarro told Phil Mattingly, “Here’s the analytical issue we’re trying to do under the principle that the president wants to charge those countries what they charge us. As you pointed out, Vietnam has an applied tariff rate that’s much larger than ours, but doesn’t come near the tariff we charge them, so the question is how do you value the following, Phil.”

He rattled off economic buzzwords like currency manipulation, export subsidies, and intellectual property theft, concluding that America shouldn’t be running chronic trade deficits.

“So let me count the ways. You’ve got to value currency manipulation, you’ve got to value the VAT tax distortions, dumping, export subsidies, technical barriers of trade, agricultural barriers to trade, quotas, bans, counterfeiting, intellectual property theft, and all of that. So here’s the punchline. If you look at the trade deficit… should the US have chronic and sustained deficits? They should not,” Navarro added.

Musk clearly wasn’t won over by Navarro's arguments, making it obvious he wasn’t impressed.

“A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing,” Musk wrote in another tweet, mocking Navarro’s academic background. “Results in the ego/brains>>1 problem," he added.

When someone defended Navarro’s analysis by saying he was “correct,” Musk shot back with a blunt reply: “He ain’t built s**t.”

Tesla relies on imported parts from China. Trump slammed it with a 34 percent tariff. In response, China hit the US with a reciprocal 34 percent tariff on all US goods. Since Trump announced his tariff plan on April 2, Wednesday, Tesla shares have plummeted, per Politico.

Elon Musk sparks online debate as he takes a shot at Peter Navarro over Donald Trump's tariffs

Elon Musk sparked a wave of online reactions after publicly criticizing Peter Navarro’s defense of Donald Trump’s tariff policies. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO's comments stirred up a heated debate among susers, highlighting ongoing divide over trade policy, economic nationalism, and Musk’s growing political voice.

Some commenters sided with Musk, praising his stance. “Bravo, Elon! We need some business leaders like yourself to publicly advocate against the ginormous import taxes imposed on America before it’s too late. And I agree, Navarro has never run anything except his mouth,” one user wrote.

Others, however, pushed back. “Sorry Elon, I don't agree with you on this one. Tariffs are needed to reset international trade. America has been destroyed (sold) in the last 30 years. Love you anyway,” shared a user.

Supporters of Navarro questioned Musk’s critique outright. “Which part of what Navarro said is wrong?” asked one user, while another suggested Musk’s views revealed a broader disconnect, “The entire Ivy League has lost all respect from me and hasn’t had much for decades. I’d rather hire people with degrees from trusted foreign schools or the few unwoke universities and colleges. Schools today can’t be trusted to educate for useful careers.”

Another user commented, “So I’m guessing you aren’t in favor of tariffs."

Some urged Musk to use his influence more strategically, “Since Trump has so much respect for you, perhaps you can convince him to change his mind?”

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