Just days after Donald Trump announced his sweeping tariffs, which upended global markets and triggered a trade war, cracks have appeared between the two top advisers of the United States President.
White House Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) office affiliate Elon Musk has locked horns with long-time trade adviser Peter Navarro. On Tuesday (April 8), Musk, in a post on X, said Navarro was “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.” The billionaire was responding to a comment that Navarro made during a TV interview with CNBC where he had said Musk-owned Tesla is not a real car manufacturer but a mere “assembler” of foreign parts.
However, the public feud between the two advisers is not about the correct description of Tesla. This has to do with the differences in opinions on Trump’s tariffs.
Here is a look at why Musk and Navarro are fighting with each other.
But first, who is Peter Navarro?
Navarro, 75, is an American economist who was appointed by Trump as his senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing in December 2024. During Trump’s first administration, Navarro was in charge of a newly created National Trade Council and then the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy.
The adviser has graduated from Tufts University and later Harvard University with a doctorate degree in economics.
Navarro is also the first former White House official to be imprisoned for a contempt of Congress conviction. “He was sentenced to four months in a low security facility in Miami for his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack,” according to a report by ABC News.
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Why are Navarro and Musk fighting?
Navarro has been a huge advocate for tariffs in the hope of helping boost domestic manufacturing. In fact, his plans for trade were the basis for half a chapter of Project 2025, a policy guide published by conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, according to the ABC News report.
However, Musk has been a tariff-skeptic. On April 5 — three days after Trump announced the tariffs — the billionaire at a conference said, “At the end of the day, I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America.”
On Monday (April 7), Musk posted a clip of economist Milton Friedman on X. The clip shows how international markets and trade without barriers increase quality of life. It was “interpreted by many as a criticism of Trump’s tariff policy, which has prompted a wave of international backlash towards the US,” according to a report by Newsweek.
Musk’s scepticism prompted a CNBC anchor to ask Navarro about the billionaire’s views during an interview on Monday. Navarro said Musk “isn’t a car manufacturer — he’s a car assembler,” suggesting that Tesla puts together vehicles composed of foreign-made parts. Musk opposes tariffs, Navarro added, as “he wants the cheap foreign parts and we understand that.”
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In response, Musk called the adviser “truly a moron”, “dumber than a sack of bricks”, and “Peter Retarrdo.” He claimed: “Tesla has the most American-made cars… By any definition whatsoever, Tesla is the most vertically integrated auto manufacturer in America with the highest percentage of US content.”
Speaking about the altercation, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday said, “Boys will be boys and we will let their public sparring continue.” (Peter Navarro is 75. Musk is 53.)