Elon Musk vs Peter Navarro: Two of Donald Trump's trusted advisers -- business tycoons and Harvard-trained economist -- are clashing. Here's why

Donald Trump's close confidante Elon Musk and long-time trade adviser Peter Navarro have been engaged in a bitter public feud over the US President's decision to impose sweeping tariffs on most of the America's trading nations.

Both Musk and Navarro have been squabbling publicly exposing a remarkable rift in the president's inner circle over the wide-ranging tariffs that have upended the global economy.

So far, President Trump has not weighed in on the clash between his top aides, both of whom he claims to hold in high regard. But Musk's words -- though aimed at Navarro -- were a rare criticism of Trump's policies from one of his most influential advisers.


Musk, the world's richest man, is estimated to have lost roughly $31 billion since Trump announced sweeping tariffs on foreign countries April 2, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, NYT News Service reported.

The squabble escalated Monday when Navarro said on CNBC that Musk was not a "car manufacturer" but a "car assembler" because Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle company, relied on parts from around the world.

Musk fired back Tuesday, calling Navarro a 'moron' and "dumber than a sack of bricks" in a post on X, the social media site he owns. Later in the day, Musk doubled down, posting that he wanted to "apologize to bricks."

Navarro ignored questions from reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon about Musk's posts on social media.

The White House on Tuesday declared that "boys will be boys." "Look, these are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs," said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. "Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue," Leavitt said.

Asked about the dust-up between the advisers, Leavitt said the public nature of the spat was evidence of the Trump administration's transparency and Trump's willingness to listen to diverse opinions.

FAQs

Q1. Who is President of USA?
A1. President of USA is Donald Trump.

Q2. Who is richest person of the world?
A2. Richest person of the world is Elon Musk, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.