Elon Musk Falls Out With Trump’s Top Tariff Adviser, Signaling a Growing Rift with White House Over Policies That Could Deepen Tesla’s Troubles

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made a public blow on President Donald Trump’s best commercial advisor, Peter Navarro, in what many initiates consider a veiled reprimand of the new Trump administration regime, a policy that could further erode Tesla’s already slow growth.

“A doctorate in Harvard Econ is a bad thing, not a good thing,” Musk wrote on X on Saturday, formerly Twitter. “Results in the ego / brain >> 1 problem.”

Navarro, 75, who obtained his master’s degree and his doctorate at Harvard and is currently Trump’s main advisor on trade and manufacturing, has rejected the insult in an interview with Fox News. But behind the scenes, many in Trump’s circle recognize that the fault between musk and the administration can be deeper than they admit it publicly.

“Listen, Elon, when he is in his Doge, he’s great,” said Navarro in Futures on Sunday morning. “But let’s understand what’s going on here – Elon sells cars. He protects his own interests, like any businessman.”

Navarro’s tone was light, but Musk’s criticisms only occurred a few days after Trump has deployed a radical pricing policy that imposes new import taxes of more than 180 countries, from a reference rate of 10%. Trump, who announced the measure during a rally on what he called the “Liberation Day”, said that this decision “would make America again rich” by encouraging American manufacturing.

However, economists warn that politics could do the exact opposite, especially for American car manufacturers like Tesla, including global supply chains and export markets are directly struck by new functions.

Tesla, which relies on parts imported for its American manufacture and exports thousands of vehicles from its gigafactory to Shanghai to Europe and elsewhere, should be one of the most harsh American car manufacturers under the new tariff regime. Analysts say that the policy could significantly increase the cost of key components, reduce competitiveness on foreign markets and trigger reprisal measures from other countries.

Tesla has already faced a difficult year. The global deliveries of the electric car manufacturer have dropped almost 8% in the first quarter, its greatest decrease from year to year from the pandemic. With competition in Europe and China, and the price wars eating on the margins, Tesla is under pressure to show growth again. Analysts lowered the actions of the company, highlighting the stagnation of sales and low demand from consumers on the key markets.

Musk, formerly an enthusiastic funder of Trump and who currently serves as a “special government employee” under the Ministry of Government (DOGE), supported the administration on a series of questions, from deregulation to freedom of expression. But the tariff dispute can mark the beginning of a serious ideological split.

Behind the Musk – Navarro confrontation

While Musk’s excavation in Navarro seemed personal, many believe that it is emblematic of a deeper frustration against Trump’s economic policy of Trump. The blow was largely interpreted as a public denunciation of the increasingly populist protectionist management of the administration – which, according to Musk, undermines the very global competitiveness that America needs to preserve.

Familiar sources with the White House discussions claim that Musk had warned Trump in private in recent months that the automotive sector needed “more open markets, no less”, in particular as car manufacturers inherited from China and Europe have started to flood international markets with cheaper electric vehicles.

Musk’s push for a “zero-tail” commercial pact between the United States and Europe, comments he made on Saturday at a meeting with the Italian League party, also underlines his divergence from Trump’s bellicist position. He even suggested a more free immigration policy between the two continents.

“If people wish to work in Europe or wish to work in North America, they should be allowed to do so,” said Musk, comments that contrast strongly with the more restrictive posture of the Trump administration on work and immigration.

Although Navarro has minimized the spit, the initiates suggest that Musk’s JAB could mark the start of a cooling relationship with Trump’s administration – who had so far positioned Musk as an essential outsider -insider. As a Dogee chief, Musk was used to provide the effectiveness of Silicon Valley to federal operations. Trump, who frequently praises Musk, said that he hoped that the technological billionaire will remain on “as long as possible”.

But federal law limits special government employees as a Musk at 130 days of service per year, and there are signs that the two parties are preparing for a natural, but more and more tense, conclusion of arrangement.

“Elon Musk and President Trump both publicly declared that the Elon was starting from the public service as an employee of the special government when her incredible work in Doge is finished,” said the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a Post.

However, TrumpWorld seems eager to keep musk in the fold. Vice-president JD Vance recently declared on Fox News that Musk would continue to advise the administration even after completing his DOGE mission. But this loyalty can be more difficult to maintain if the price repercussions continue to deepen.

However, for Musk, the battle on prices could force a turning point. Once considered a rare bridge between the technological elite and Trump’s populist movement, Musk now seems to be taken between his commercial interests and the increasing nationalist policies of the administration.

Time will tell us if its fallout with Navarro become a wider split with the White House. However, it becomes clearer while Tesla has difficulty maintaining growth that Musk cannot afford trade policies that stifle the supply chains, swell production costs and close foreign markets.