Billionaire Elon Musk publicly criticizes US President Donald Trump’s trade policy. In private conversations, Musk tries to convince him to ease duties, but to no avail.
This is reported by The Washington Post.
Recently, Musk criticized the administration official, the key author of the tariff plan, White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro, questioning his qualifications: “A PhD in economics from Harvard is bad, not good,” the billionaire wrote.
During an interview with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, he said he would like to see a “free trade zone” between Europe and the United States: “Ultimately, I hope that everyone will agree: both Europe and the United States should, in my opinion, strive for a zero-tariff situation.”
Musk spoke in favor of greater freedom of movement between Europe and the United States. On April 7, Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 50% duty on imports from China in addition to the already announced 34%. He hinted that he was ready to discuss certain aspects of his policy. Musk published a video in X in which conservative economist Milton Friedman talks about the benefits of international trade cooperation.
This was the most visible conflict between the president and one of his top advisers. Musk also has disagreements with other members of Trump’s team, including over H1-B visas for skilled immigrants and the DOGE approach to government spending, WP writes.
As CEO of electric car manufacturer Tesla, he has long considered tariffs harmful to the company, which has key manufacturing and consumer hubs in both the United States and China. However, analysts say the new tariffs will likely do more damage to other automakers.
WP sources say that many business leaders who supported Trump’s candidacy in the election were “stunned” by his decision on the tariffs. They had hoped he would be persuaded to take a softer approach. People around Musk reached out to friends in the administration, arguing in favor of what they saw as a more reasonable free trade policy.
According to The Washington Post, over the weekend, a group of entrepreneurs began forming an informal coalition to lobby for a more moderate policy among Trump team members.