The White House on Tuesday played down a fiery public feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Trump’s senior trade adviser Peter Navarro, after the two clashed over the administration’s aggressive new tariff strategy.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the dispute during her briefing, describing the clash as little more than a difference of opinion.
“These are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs,” Leavitt said. “Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue.”
The feud ignited over the weekend after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs affecting imports from multiple countries — a move supported by Navarro but publicly criticised by Musk.
Navarro, a vocal supporter of protectionist trade policies, suggested in a interview that Tesla doesn’t fully qualify as a US manufacturer due to its reliance on components from overseas.
He argued that Trump’s tariffs were meant to bring manufacturing back to American cities like Akron and Flint.Musk fired back sharply on social media, calling Navarro “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.”In another post, he used a slur, referring to the adviser as “Peter Retarrdo,” and claimed Navarro’s statements were “demonstrably false.”
“Tesla has the most American-made cars,” Musk wrote. “By any definition, we are the most vertically integrated US auto manufacturer.”
Tesla has topped Cars.com’s American-Made Index since 2021, based on where parts are sourced and where vehicles are assembled.
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