Musk's beef with Navarro on trade tariffs intensifies

Elon Musk is doubling down on his criticism of Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro, nicknaming him “Peter Retarrdo” and saying he’s “dumber than a sack of bricks.”

In a series of X posts, Mr. Musk made it clear on Tuesday that he has a problem with Mr. Navarro’s recent assertion that the world’s richest man’s opposition to trade tariffs is driven by Tesla’s reliance on imported car parts.

“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Mr. Musk wrote on X. 

In a separate post, he said, “Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks.”

Mr. Musk has been a top Trump ally and has sung his praise for months.

However, the Tesla CEO has refused to advocate for Mr. Trump’s latest round of tariffs, suggesting that free-trade zones with Europe would be a smarter move.

Mr. Musk’s willingness to openly criticize Mr. Trump’s central policy push fuels speculation that he has overstayed his welcome and that his days as Mr. Trump’s wingman will end soon.

The White House has denied claims that Mr. Musk is stepping back from his lead role at DOGE, which has rattled liberals with its aggressive cost-cutting push.

Questions over Mr. Musk’s continued influence in the administration spiked after Republicans lost a high-profile state Supreme Court race in which he spent millions on behalf of Republican-backed Judge Brad Schimel and headlined a rally where he handed out a couple of $1 million oversized checks to supporters.

Democrats turned the race into a referendum on Mr. Musk, whose support for Mr. Trump and demonizing of federal workers has infuriated liberals — while DOGE’s uncovering of outrageous waste and possible fraud in the government is wildly popular with conservatives.

Mr. Musk’s decision to target Mr. Navarro and challenge the latest wave of tariffs has left some questioning whether he has finally gone too far over his skis.

Steve Bannon, who served as a top adviser in the first Trump administration and has questioned Mr. Musk’s vision, said the debate over tariffs separates the nationalists from the globalists.

“Now trying to take shots at Peter Navarro,” Mr. Bannon said on his “War Room” podcast. ”Peter Navarro doesn’t care. He’s a honey badger. Not just that; his policies are winning. He knows this.”

On Saturday, Mr. Musk started targeting Mr. Navarro after an X user complimented the trade adviser’s use of “specific details instead of blank statements” to explain tariffs and applauded his Harvard Ph.D. in economics. 

Mr. Musk countered that having a doctorate from Harvard “is a bad thing, not a good thing.”

“Results in the ego/brains>>1 problem,” he wrote. 

Mr. Musk also responded to another X user who said Mr. Navarro was “correct” about tariffs, saying he “ain’t built s—-.”

On Sunday, Mr. Navarro said it’s “fine” that Mr. Musk is using his social media bully pulpit to share his views, but added that people should recognize why Mr. Musk is upset. 

“We just have to understand, Elon sells cars,” Mr. Navarro said, noting that the Tesla car plant in Texas uses parts from Mexico, China and Taiwan.

“He is simply protecting his own interest as any businessperson would do,” he said. “We are more concerned about Detroit building Cadillacs with American engines.”