Elon Musk and Peter Navarro in the Oval Office. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Elon Musk escalated his war of words with Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday, calling him “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks” over comments about Musk’s businesses.
Why it matters: The gloves are off, and Musk — who has already challenged Trump’s trade policy publicly — is now getting increasingly personal with the architect of that policy, too.
- The White House, asked for comment on the Musk-Navarro spat, pointed to a statement issued to CNBC, in which press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “Whatever. We are the most transparent administration in history, expressing our disagreements in public.”
Catch up quick: It all started last Saturday, when a poster on X defended Navarro’s intellect as a voice on trade. Musk replied that Navarro’s Harvard Ph.D. suggested he had more ego than brains, and that he “ain’t built s–t.”
- Navarro, in TV appearances in recent days, pushed back, saying Musk wasn’t a car manufacturer, just an assembler of parts.
Driving the news: Musk’s had enough of that argument.
- “Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk wrote on X in response to a clip of Navarro on CNBC talking about Tesla and its supply chain.
- In the same thread, Musk called Navarro “dumber than a sack of bricks” and told him to go ask “Ron Vara” — the fictional economist Navarro quoted in his books.
The intrigue: There’s been little daylight between Trump and “first buddy” Musk until now.
- But Musk blasting Navarro, telling Italian politicians he wanted more free trade, and his brother calling the tariffs a destructive tax on consumers makes clear there’s now a rift between the two on a crucial issue.
What to watch: Trump hasn’t yet sounded off on Musk’s public agitation.
- It’s not clear how long that will last.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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