Washington DC [US], April 8: Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, who currently heads the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has reportedly urged President Donald Trump to reconsider sweeping retaliatory import tariffs, though his appeal appears to have fallen on deaf ears, according to the Washington Post.
The report cites sources familiar with the matter, revealing that Musk’s intervention was unsuccessful and that the Tesla and X CEO has also clashed with Washington officials on other issues, including migrant visas and the government’s spending strategy under DOGE.
Tensions escalated after Musk publicly criticized White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on his platform X (formerly Twitter), questioning his credentials. “A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing,” Musk posted, directly referencing Navarro’s key role in crafting the new tariff policy. The Post described this as the most visible rift yet between Musk and the Trump administration.
Musk further stated his vision for a “free trade zone” between Europe and the US, advocating for a zero-tariff agreement and free movement of people between the two regions. “That has certainly been my advice to the president,” Musk was quoted as saying. He emphasized that such policies would benefit both sides and boost innovation and commerce.
Musk’s brother and fellow Tesla board member, Kimbal Musk, also joined the fray, openly criticizing the President’s tariff measures on Monday.
President Trump, however, has held firm. On Monday, during a White House meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump ruled out any pause in tariff implementation, asserting that the US is committed to “fair deals” even if they come with “substantial tariffs.”
The recently announced 10% baseline tariff on all imports, with steeper duties on specific countries including India, has rattled global markets and sparked warnings of retaliatory trade actions.
Meanwhile, Tesla is feeling the heat. The electric vehicle giant recorded a 13% plunge in sales in the first quarter of 2025, marking the largest decline in its history. Analysts attribute the drop to a combination of growing global competition in the EV market and backlash against Musk’s public persona, as reported by CNN earlier this month.
As the political and economic landscape continues to shift, the divide between Musk’s free-trade, open-border ideology and the Trump administration’s America-first protectionist stance seems to be widening.