Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a key adviser to Donald Trump, made a direct appeal to the US president over the weekend, urging him to reconsider his administration’s aggressive tariff plans.
Musk’s appeal, initially reported by the Washington Post, comes as Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs, including a 50 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, on top of the 34 per cent already introduced last week.
Despite Musk’s attempts, the president did not reverse course. Instead, his public comments that followed mark the highest-profile break between the president and one of his most prominent allies.
Musk’s intervention follows escalating tensions in global trade, particularly between the US and China.
On Saturday, Musk publicly criticised White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a key architect of the tariff policies, on social media.
Musk’s comments, calling Navarro’s PhD in economics a “bad thing”, reflect his growing frustration with Trump’s trade strategy, which he sees as detrimental to business, notably his own Tesla.
Tesla falls
Musk’s concerns are not unfounded. As chief executive of Tesla, a firm with substantial operations in both the US and in China, he has long argued that tariffs stifle businesses, disrupt supply chains, and increase overall costs.
His criticism of tariffs stretches back to Trump’s first term, when Tesla sued over the levies on Chinese imports.
While Musk initially supported Trump, he became increasingly vocal against the tariffs, warning that they could backfire and hurt American firms more than Chinese ones.
This time around, analysts have warned that the escalating tariff disputes could negatively affect Tesla’s stock price.
Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities, downgraded Tesla’s stock price target, citing his political the chief executive’s political entanglements and the negative effects of tariff policies on vehicle demand.
“Tesla has essentially become a political symbol globally”, he said, “and that is a very bad thing for the future of this disruptive tech stalwart”.
Tesla has been approached for comment
The Musk-Trump fallout
As a major donor and supporter of Trump’s policies, Musk has also voiced opposition to other elements of the administration’s economic agenda, including restrictions on skilled immigration and heavy government spending.
Musk’s efforts to influence the administration have not yielded results, and he faces growing pressure on Tesla to mitigate the impact of trade war on its operations.
Despite its high profile advocacy for free trade, Musk has attempted to offer solutions.
In an interview with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, Musk called for the creation of a “free trade zone” between Europe and the US, advocating for zero tariffs between the two regions.
Musk also emphasised his desire for greater freedom of movement and work opportunities between Europe and the US, an idea he had previously presented to Trump.
His appeals come just weeks before the former Trump darling is expected to depart his advisory role in the administration, and they reflect growing concern over how trade policies will affect not only Tesla, but the broader tech landscape.
His influence, once thought to be a stabilising force in US economic policy, may be waning, and the pressure on both Musk and Tesla continues to build.
In a final twist, Musk’s brother, Kimbal Musk, also weighed in, criticising Trump’s tariffs as a “structural, permanent tax on the American consumer.”
It seems the Musk family’s consensus is an increasing divergence from the Trump administration. Yet, for now, Musk’s attempts too reverse the tariff strategy have failed.