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Elon Musk has brutally dragged President Donald Trump’s chief trade adviser as the tensions over tariffs continue to grow.
After his shock announcement last Wednesday (April 2), Trump’s import tariffs came into effect today (April 9).
After China hit the US with a reactionary 34% tariff, Trump has now slapped the country with a whopping 104% tariff.
And tensions also appear to be growing closer to home after Musk called Trump’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro, a ‘moron’ over comments he had made about Tesla.
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In a post on his own social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Musk said that Navarro was ‘dumber than a sack of bricks’.
This was after Navarro spoke about Musk in an interview where he said that he wanted to see car parts made in the US.
He said: “"If you look at our auto industry, right, we’re an assembly line for German engines and transmissions right now.
“We’re going to get to a place where America makes stuff again, real wages are going to be up, profits are going to be up.”
Discussing Musk, Navarro added: “[He’s] not a car manufacturer. He’s a car assembler, in many cases.”
In response, Musk said that Navarro’s comments about Tesla were ‘demonstrably false’.
Musk added: “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.”
Yesterday (April 8), White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to questions about the spat.
She said: “These are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs.
“Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue.”
Prior to the fallout with Navarro, Musk had hinted at his disagreement with the trade policies, admitting that he would also be impacted by the tariffs.
With the tariffs taking effect today, the stock market has seen a slump and it looks set to be a turbulent week.
China’s foreign ministry commented on the US tariffs, calling on the country to stop its ‘arrogant and bullying behavior’.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the US was continuing to enforce the tariffs on China ‘indiscriminately’, adding: “If the US really wants to solve the problem through dialogue and negotiation, it should adopt an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit.”
The world is anticipating how the US markets will be impacted when they open later today.
