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Elon Musk has fired back at Peter Navarro on social media after the former President Trump’s trade adviser criticized his company, Tesla. Navarro argued that Tesla isn’t a “car manufacturer,” but merely a “car assembler,” which triggered a fierce response from Musk.
Musk responded on X, calling Navarro “truly a moron” and asserting that Navarro’s claims were “demonstrably false.” However, some of Musk’s supporters quickly expressed disappointment over his choice of words.
One user advised, “Careful… you can disagree without insulting each other. He’s respectful to you and it hurts the country ultimately if you are not respectful in return.”
Another commented, “Elon… why not call out ALL the lies coming from this administration, not just the lies about you?”
A third user criticized Musk, saying, “Navarro has been with MAGA since the beginning, and you only came onboard in the final months of the election when it was clear Trump would win,” adding, “One of you is a real patriot and one of you is a fraud trying to use MAGA for your own interests.”
During his CNBC interview on Monday, April 8, Navarro criticized Musk, saying, “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, in many cases.”
Navarro pointed out that at Musk’s Tesla plant in Texas, some of the engines contain batteries sourced from Japan and China, with other electronics imported from Taiwan.
“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 added.
The 75-year-old Navarro continued, claiming that Musk’s practice of sourcing car parts from foreign countries is “bad for our economy” and “bad for our national security.”
After labeling Navarro a “moron,” Musk returned to X to strike again, saying: “Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks.”
The tensions between the two have escalated ever since Musk, 53, expressed support for Trump’s new tariffs, suggesting he’d like to see a “zero-tariff situation” between the U.S. and Europe.
Navarro quickly responded during a Fox News interview, saying: “It was interesting to hear Elon Musk at the beginning talk about a zero-tariff zone with Europe. He didn’t understand that. The thing that’s, I think, important about Elon to understand, he sells cars.”
However, Navarro denied there was a feud between the two, adding, “We don’t mind him saying whatever he wants, but just the American people need to understand that we understand what that’s all about. It’s fine.”
Tesla has faced significant challenges recently, closing out its worst quarter since 2022, with its shares dropping 36% in the first three months of the year. Analyst Dan Ives stated, “The economic tariff Armageddon unleashed by the Trump Administration is a double whammy for Tesla in our view.”
Additionally, Tesla’s dealerships have also been affected by incidents of vandalism.
