Trump Advisor Navarro Hits Back At Elon Musk's Tariff Criticism: 'Just Looking Out For His Own Interests'

Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk has publicly voiced his criticism of Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro over President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Navarro, however, has denied any feud with Musk.

What Happened: Early Saturday Musk on his social media platform X questioned Navarro’s support of Trump’s tariffs. Musk, who has generally been supportive of President Donald Trump, has not previously commented on the President’s trade policies and their effect on the stock market.

An X user posted a video of Navarro defending the administration’s tariff calculations while praising the trade adviser’s PhD in economics from Harvard. Musk responded to the video, implying that Navarro’s Harvard economics PhD was a disadvantage.

Musk also responded "yup" to a post that quoted economist Thomas Sowell, stating, "In every disaster throughout American history, there always seems to be a man from Harvard in the middle of it."

Meanwhile, when asked on Fox News about Musk’s remarks and a possible disagreement, Navarro responded, “It’s fine, there’s no rift here.” He further suggested that Musk, as a businessman, was “simply protecting his own interest” by opposing him and Trump’s tariffs.

“Elon is great when he sticks to his DOGE lane,” Navarro said, but stated that the billionaire “sells cars” and is “just looking out for his own interests” by opposing him and Trump's tariffs—”just like any businessperson would.”

SEE ALSO: Howard Lutnick Says Army Of Millions Will Build iPhones In The US, But Could Trump’s Tariffs Make The Premium Apple Flagship Cost $2,300?

Why It Matters: Musk’s remarks surfaced as he has largely refrained from the tariff discussion. However, he later expressed a desire for the U.S. and Europe to move toward a zero-tariff system, in response to Trump's imposition of a 20% tariff on goods from the European Union.

Musk’s net worth has taken a significant hit following Trump's tariff announcement, with billions wiped off. Despite this, Forbes still ranks the billionaire as the world’s richest person, with an estimated net worth of $362.5 billion as of Sunday. Tesla's stock plunged nearly 15% between Trump's tariff announcement on Wednesday and Friday’s close at $239.43.

In March, Musk acknowledged that although his auto company leads in U.S. manufacturing compared to competitors, "Tesla is still significantly impacted by tariffs." Meanwhile, shares of Musk’s SpaceX, a privately held company, dropped 12% last week, as reported by secondary market data provider Notice. The decline is linked to SpaceX's reliance on products sourced from Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand—countries heavily impacted by Trump's tariffs.

• READ NEXT: Mark Cuban Says Between ‘Free Trade’ Elon Musk And ‘Full Tariff’ Trump, It Is The President Who Will Win As Stocks Futures Tank

Image via Shutterstock

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.