Elon Musk's tariff rift with Trump's top trade advisor is getting ugly

• Elon Musk doesn't agree with Peter Navarro's views on tariffs.
• "A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing," Musk said of Navarro's background.
• Musk said he wants a "free trade zone" between Europe and the US.

Elon Musk, one of President Donald Trump's biggest supporters, has been locking horns with Trump's top trade advisor, Peter Navarro.

"A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing," the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said of Navarro's academic qualifications in an X post on Saturday.

"Results in the ego/brains>>1 problem," Musk added.

Navarro earned his bachelor's from Tufts University. He then went to Harvard, where he did a master's in public administration and a doctorate in economics.

Musk criticized Navarro on X days after Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on over 180 countries. On Wednesday, Trump said the tariffs, which start at a baseline rate of 10%, would help "make America wealthy again" by bringing manufacturing back to the US.

Navarro, Trump's senior advisor for trade and manufacturing, has taken a pro-tariff position.

Navarro responded to Musk's broadside during a Sunday interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."

"Look, Elon, when he's in his DOGE lane, he's great. But we understand what's going on here. We just have to understand. Elon sells cars," Navarro said, referencing Musk's work with the White House DOGE office.

"And he's simply protecting his own interests as any business person would do. We are more concerned about Detroit building Cadillacs with American engines, and that's what this is all about," he said.

However, Navarro added that things are "fine" with him and Musk and that "there's no rift here."

Before joining the first Trump administration in 2017, Navarro was a business school professor at the University of California, Irvine. The 75-year-old is one of the few officials Trump brought back to serve in his second term.

Musk breaks with Trumpworld on trade and tariffs

Musk has taken a differing view on free trade and tariffs from Trump and his deputies.

The sweeping tariffs, announced on what Trump called "Liberation Day," have spooked investors and triggered a huge sell-off in the stock market. The S&P 500 is down nearly 14% year to date, while the Nasdaq Composite is down 19% year to date.

Musk said on Saturday, while attending a meeting with Italy's League Party, that he would like to see a "zero-tariff situation" and a "free trade zone" between Europe and the US. Musk said he had also advised the president on allowing more immigration between Europe and the US.

"If people wish to work in Europe or wish to work in North America, they should be allowed to do so, in my view," Musk said.

Musk, a major Trump backer, now spearheads cost-cutting efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

And it seems Trumpworld is keen to have him remain in the president's orbit.

On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News' "Fox and Friends" that Musk will stay an advisor even after completing his work with DOGE.

Trump told reporters on Thursday that he expects Musk to leave his administration "in a few months" but added that he wants Musk to stay on for "as long as possible."

The White House said in February that Musk was working for the administration as a "special government employee." Special government employees cannot work for more than 130 days in a 365-day period, per federal law.

"Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in an X post on Wednesday.

Musk and the White House did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.