Elon Musk torched Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump’s trade advisor, in an X post Tuesday after Navarro dismissed the Tesla CEO as a glorified “car assembler” in a CNBC interview.
The spat erupted as Navarro criticized Musk’s reliance on foreign parts, saying the White House preferred American-made tires, transmissions and engines over what he called Tesla’s overseas-sourced battery and electronics supply chain. Musk, who leads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), responded by calling Navarro “dumber than a sack of bricks” and “a moron” on his social media platform.
“When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House — and the American people understand — that Elon’s a car manufacturer. But he’s not a car manufacturer. He’s a car assembler,” Navarro said on CNBC. “In many cases, if you go to his Texas plant, a good part of the engines he gets, which in the EV case are the batteries, come from Japan and come from China. The electronics come from Taiwan. The tires — what we want, and the difference is in our thinking and Elon’s on this is that we want the tires made in Akron. We want the transmissions made in Indianapolis. We want the engines made in Flint and Saginaw. And we want the cars manufactured here.”
Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 8, 2025
“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk wrote in reply.
In another reply, Musk insisted “Tesla has the most American-made cars,” linking to a Kelley Blue Book study echoing this claim. The world’s richest man then called Navarro “dumber than a sack of bricks” and tagged his X account. He also alerted @IfindRetards, or “Retard Finder,” an account whose stated purpose is to “find retards and their posts on X.”
By any definition whatsoever, Tesla is the most vertically integrated auto manufacturer in America with the highest percentage of US content.
Navarro should ask the fake expert he invented, Ron Vara.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 8, 2025
“By any definition whatsoever, Tesla is the most vertically integrated auto manufacturer in America with the highest percentage of US content,” Musk continued. “Navarro should ask the fake expert he invented, Ron Vara.”
Navarro’s remarks come as the administration weathers the economic storm from Trump’s sweeping tariffs — particularly those targeting China. While the president doubles down on 50% duties unless Beijing yields, Musk has emerged as a rare voice in the administration urging restraint and embracing free trade principles.
The Tesla CEO posted a video of Milton Friedman, the late pro-free trade economist, on Monday explaining the necessity of international supply chains for manufacturing pencils — an apparent endorsement by Musk of this philosophy. Two days earlier, he appeared on a podcast with Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister of Italy, and advocated for a “free-trade zone between Europe and North America.”
The feud has drawn attention for exposing a rift between two of Trump’s top allies as the president’s economic team battles over the future of U.S. trade policy. Navarro, long an advocate of aggressive protectionism, has often clashed with corporate interests over domestic sourcing and reshoring strategies.
Musk’s attacks weren’t limited to policy. In a Saturday post, he took a swipe at Navarro’s academic credentials, writing: “A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing.”
A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing.
Results in the ego/brains>>1 problem.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2025
When a user responded that Navarro was correct on trade, Musk said “he ain’t built shit” in a now-deleted post.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNBC the administration was unfazed by the spat.
“Whatever,” she told CNBC’s Eamon Javers. “We are the most transparent administration in history, expressing our disagreements in public.”
Navarro has not yet responded to Tuesday’s string of insults.
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