"Hasn't Achieved Anything," Strong Criticism
Signs of Discord Between Trump and Musk
Amid global turmoil caused by the 'Trump-triggered tariff war,' Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and a close aide to U.S. President Donald Trump, criticized the president's tariff strategist.
On the 5th (local time), when a user on X (formerly Twitter) posted a CNN interview video featuring Peter Navarro, the White House trade and manufacturing advisor explaining President Trump's tariff policy, Musk criticized Navarro in the comments. In response to the X user stating, "Navarro holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University," Musk said, "A Harvard economics Ph.D. is not a good thing but a bad one," adding, "It boils down to ego being a bigger problem than brains." When another user defended Navarro, Musk retorted, "He ain't built s--t."
That day, Musk attended a virtual conference held by the Italian far-right party 'Lega' in Florence and said, "I hope to move toward a zero tariff situation, effectively forming a free trade zone." It is unusual for Musk to publicly comment on Trump's tariff policy, especially just three days after the president announced a 20% reciprocal tariff on the European Union (EU).
In fact, Tesla's stock price, which had risen to $479.86 per share in mid-December last year, declined after Trump began aggressively threatening countries worldwide with tariff bombs. Additionally, global boycotts led to a drop in electric vehicle sales, and Musk's stock holdings lost tens of trillions of won in value. Tesla's sales performance in Europe last month hit a 15-month low. In April, Tesla sold 13,951 new cars across the EU, a 2.3% decrease compared to the same month last year. While Germany, the largest car market in Europe, saw a 0.2% decrease in total electric vehicle registrations, Tesla's sales plummeted by 32%.
Online media Axios predicted, "Musk entering the tariff debate he had previously avoided could inject more uncertainty into the U.S. effort to reshape the global economic order."
There are also interpretations that a rift is developing between Trump and Musk. On the 4th, The Wall Street Journal reported, "After complaints from ministers and aides, Trump instructed Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to better manage Musk." The timing of Trump's directive to Wiles was early last month, coinciding with the emergence of complaints about Musk among ministers.
Trump recently mentioned Musk's resignation as well. Trump said, "Musk eventually needs to return to the electric car company Tesla and the space company SpaceX that he leads."
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