A rift appears to be forming between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President Trump over a disagreement over tariffs. Musk’s brother and Tesla board member, Kimball Musk, is getting involved and has even insulted the President.
A few years ago, Musk was telling Trump that he was “too old” and that he should “ride into the sunset,” while Trump said that Musk would be “worthless” without subsidies that he could have made him “drop to his knees and beg”:
That was just three years ago.
Three years and $250 million in political donations later, Trump is now calling Musk a “genius” and he loves his electric cars. On the other hand, Musk said that “Trump is the only one who can save the Western world” and that he loves him a lot:
I love Donald Trump as much as a straight man can love another man.
Many didn’t see this love story surviving a full term. I, myself, predicted it wouldn’t survive 2025, and it looks like it’s already starting.
While Musk has given his full support to Trump, there’s one thing he has never commented on: tariffs.
Trump has been obsessed with implementing tariffs, which were finally announced on all trade partners last week and were worse than many people believed.
Even though Trump campaigned on it and already announced tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico in February, Musk only first commented on them late last month when he said that Tesla will see a “significant impact” from tariffs.
But he didn’t talk against them. This week, he is pushing back for the first time.
In a talk with Italy’s deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, Musk said he was “hoping” for no tariffs between Europe and North America:
“I’m hopeful for example with the tariffs…that at the end of the day…it is agreed that Europe and the U.S. should move, ideally in my view, to a zero tariff situation—effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America.”
Musk also clashed on X with Peter Navarro, a controversial economist, top trade advisor to the President, and the person believed to be behind Trump’s obsession with tariffs.
Tesla’s CEO called him a “moron.”
Now, the Washington Post is reporting that Musk had tried to intervene directly with Trump on tariffs, but his attempt has apparently failed.
Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother and a Tesla board member, was fully on board with Trump after his brother announced his support, but he has now soured on the President.
The Tesla board director went on a rant on X with several posts criticizing the tariffs and went as far as insulting the President:
There’s clearly a rift building between the Musks and Trump over the tariffs.
Electrek’s Take
I said I’d be surprised if the Elon/Trump partnership survives 2025. I think the fallout is now ahead of schedule.
Despite my issues with Musk, I hope he wins this argument since I think those tariffs are some of the worst economic policies ever implemented by a major country and will have dramatic negative impacts worldwide, but I have my doubts.
Many believe that Trump has been attached to tariffs so much that it would be hard for him to drop them, but I’m not in that camp. Trump has pivoted so many times that I wouldn’t be shocked if he did it on tariffs.
I think it’s more about how useful he sees Musk right now compared to other people in his entourage. Musk’s money is useful, but he failed to win the Wisconsin election despite spending over $25 million.
DOGE is also proving increasingly less popular, and Musk’s approval ratings are dropping quicker than Trump’s.
On the other hand, I think Musk will walk on eggshells around Trump. He will not push too hard on this even if he knows that this is about to crash the economy because the President remains too useful for him. I am sure he aims for a pardon before everything is said and done.
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