Musk Blasts Navarro as ‘Moron’ in Deepening Tariff Dispute

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and a longtime critic of tariffs, has once again slammed White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, the chief architect of U.S. tariff policy, calling him a “moron.”

On Tuesday, Musk intensified his criticism on X, calling Peter Navarro “a real moron.”

Musk added that Navarro is “dumber than a bag of bricks.”

The attack followed a CNBC interview in which Navarro criticized Tesla, claiming the company only assembles vehicles in the U.S. but doesn’t manufacture parts domestically. He argued that Tesla should also make parts in America.

Musk’s “moron” comment was a direct response to this criticism.

On April 5, Elon Musk replied to a user’s post that praised Peter Navarro’s Harvard economics Ph.D. He said it was not a good thing but a bad one and claimed it caused problems with ego and intelligence.

He went further and mocked Navarro with profanity and said Navarro couldn’t create anything.

Navarro responded by saying people must understand Musk is a car salesman. He said Musk wants to protect his interests as Tesla’s CEO.

As the feud grew, White House spokesperson Caroline Leavitt commented on the situation.

She said the two hold very different views on trade and tariffs and added that the administration would let their public dispute continue.

Some observers believe Musk’s repeated attacks on Navarro may show he wants to distance himself from the Trump administration.