Elon Musk has entered into a public face off with President Donald Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro over the fallout of president Trump’s tariffs.
This is coming after Navarro in an interview about Trump’s tariff policy described Tesla as a “car assembler”, rather than a manufacturer, because of its use of foreign-made parts in a bid to defend Trump’s policies.
Navarro further said he wanted to see such parts made in the US in the future instead.
During an appearance on CNBC on Monday, he said “If you look at our auto industry, right, we’re in assembly line for German engines and transmissions right now.
“We’re going to get to a place where America makes stuff again, real wages are going to be up, profits are going to be up”.
Musk Response
In response Musk who is also a member of the Trump administration labelled Navarro a “moron” over his comments. Musk also said Navarro was “dum*er than a sack of bricks”.
In a series of posts on his social media platform X.
Musk said the claims were “demonstrably false” and on Tuesday, Musk posted a link to a 2023 article by car valuation firm Kelley Blue Book, which cited Car.com findings that Tesla vehicles had the most parts produced in the US.
“By any definition whatsoever, Tesla is the most vertically integrated auto manufacturer in America with the highest percentage of US content,” Musk wrote in a follow-up post.
In the aftermath of Musk’s posts, Navarro who is a known advocate for Trump’s tariffs stated the billionaire was just protecting his business interest.
White House Response
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has shrugged off the dispute.
“These are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs,” “Boys will be boys and we will let their public sparring continue.” Leavitt said during her White House press briefing.
