President of the United States Donald Trump doubled his tariff plans even if markets crashed around the world.
But signs of division among Trump’s aides are manifesting in major allies who are clashing publicly with trade adviser Peter Navarro on Saturday. Others also present divergent stories.
There are details about what happened.
What happened between Mask and Navarro?
On Wednesday, Trump announced swept tariffs that affect most of America’s most trading partner partners. This marked a major break from decades of US trade policy, sparking criticism and concerns from economists and countries targeting Trump’s tariffs.
In the aftermath, the three major US stock indices (Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ) have fallen by more than 5% in the past week. This marks the largest stock market decline in the US since 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Longtime Trump aide and senior counselor in the trade and manufacturing administration, Peter Navarro defended the tariffs in an interview with CNN on Thursday.
“The market will find a bottom. It’ll be soon. From there, we’ll have a bullish boom and the Dow will reach 50,000 during Trump’s term,” Navarro said. As of Monday, the Dow Jones were standing at 38,314 before trading began.
After an X user told CNN about a clip of Navarro and was hinted at by his PhD advisor at Harvard University, Musk returned to the platform he owned.
“A doctoral degree from Harvard econ is a bad thing, not a good thing,” Musk posted.
The first phase of the new tariffs — a 10% taxation in countries including the UK, Australia, Argentina and Saudi Arabia — came into effect on Saturday.
The higher collection that Trump calls mutual tariffs is expected to come into effect on countries including China and India on Wednesday.
What did Musk say about European tariffs?
The hit against Navarro was not the only mask’s comment on recent tariffs.
Musk, who oversees Government Efficiency (DOGE), entrusted by Trump to significantly reduce government spending, joined Videolink’s conversation with Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right league party.
During the conversation, Musk expressed his hopes for a “zero riff situation” between the US and Europe, despite Trump imposing a 20% tariff on the European Union.
“I hope that both Europe and the US are, ideally, in my view, are agreed to ideally move into a zero tariff situation and effectively create a free trade area between Europe and North America,” Musk said.
Musk is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and the world’s wealthiest man, the largest shareholder of both companies, and has seen his company face a setback in recent weeks. In Europe alone, Tesla sales plummeted 49% in January and February, compared to the same month in 2024, according to a March 25 report published by the European Association of Auto Manufacturers.
Tesla stock prices have also stumbled. It’s about half of December.
How did Navarro respond?
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Navarro responded to Musk’s comments on European tariffs.
“It was fun to hear Elon Musk talk about Zero’s tariff zone with Europe. He doesn’t understand that,” Navarro said.
“What I think about Elon understands is that he sells the car, and that’s what he does,” Navarro adds, suggesting that Musk’s comments on tariffs are related to his business interests.
What did Musk say before about customs duties?
Last month, Tesla warned the US government that tariffs could harm electric vehicle companies when Trump’s customs targets impose their own taxes on American products.
In an unsigned letter to US trade representative Jamieson Greer, Tesla said:
The company added: “Past US trade measures have led to immediate responses by target countries, including increased tariffs on electric vehicles imported into these countries.”
On March 26, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on automobile imports and certain auto parts.
In response, the mask writes to X: “It is important to note that Tesla is not unharmed here. The impact of tariffs on Tesla remains important.”
Are there any other signs of division within Team Trump?
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS News on Sunday that the 10% baseline tariff would “stay for days and weeks,” and that higher mutual tariffs would also be in effect.
But on the same day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent told NBC’s meeting that more than 50 countries had contacted Washington to negotiate to cut taxes. “The market has consistently underestimated Donald Trump,” he said in response to the market crash.
Also on Sunday, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins if the tariffs were here, as Trump and Lutnick said. Rollins did not answer this question directly.