{"id":277220,"date":"2025-04-08T17:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T17:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/08\/tariff-war-inside-elon-musks-personal-appeal-to-donald-trump-and-why-it-failed-the-times-of-india\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T17:58:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T17:58:11","slug":"tariff-war-inside-elon-musks-personal-appeal-to-donald-trump-and-why-it-failed-the-times-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/08\/tariff-war-inside-elon-musks-personal-appeal-to-donald-trump-and-why-it-failed-the-times-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Tariff war: Inside Elon Musk\u2019s personal appeal to Donald Trump – and why it failed – The Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tariff<\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Elon Musk is used to being heard. He leads some of the world\u2019s most high-profile companies and owns one of the most influential social media platforms: X. Musk, the world\u2019s richest person, is one of US President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s most visible allies. This past weekend, Musk made personal pleas to Trump to halt a sweeping new round of tariffs. But Trump didn\u2019t budge.
According to the Washington Post, Musk\u2019s behind-the-scenes intervention, confirmed by two sources familiar with the exchange, failed to stop the administration\u2019s latest salvo: A 10% baseline tariff on all US imports, with steeper duties on countries like China.
Interestingly, Trump not only ignored Musk\u2019s advice \u2014 he escalated. On Monday, the president threatened to slap an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports, compounding the baseline 10% tax already imposed on all US imports and triggering market turbulence across the globe.
Why it matters<\/span>
Musk\u2019s campaign wasn\u2019t limited to direct outreach. People in his orbit, including investor Joe Lonsdale, made their own appeals to administration insiders like Vice President JD Vance and treasury secretary Scott Bessent. Lonsdale publicly warned that tariffs would hurt US businesses more than foreign competitors.
Musk\u2019s failed intervention marks a dramatic and very public fracture within Trump\u2019s inner circle. Musk has poured nearly $290 million into supporting Trump-aligned causes and candidates. His inability to influence Trump\u2019s trade play reveals how the president\u2019s protectionist instincts may now eclipse even his most high-profile allies, the Washington Post report said.
It also underscores growing divisions between the business world and Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d trade agenda. While Musk has long opposed tariffs, his recent public campaign\u2014including a pointed video of free-market icon Milton Friedman posted to X\u2014signals a broader rebellion among pro-Trump elites now confronting real economic fallout.
The big picture: Musk had reasons to act<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  • The world\u2019s 500 wealthiest individuals saw a combined $536 billion wiped out in just two days of stock market trading following Trump\u2019s \u201cliberation day\u201d tariff announcement last Wednesday \u2014 the largest two-day drop ever recorded by Bloomberg\u2019s billionaires index.<\/li>\n
  • Elon Musk alone has lost an estimated $130 billion in net worth so far this year. Still, he holds onto the top spot as the world\u2019s richest person with a fortune of $302 billion, a Bloomberg report said.<\/li>\n
  • Tesla stock has fallen over 38% this year. Analysts say Trump\u2019s tariffs, coupled with growing backlash to Musk\u2019s political entanglements, are driving down Tesla demand in key markets like China and Europe. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities \u2014 long a Tesla bull \u2014 downgraded the company\u2019s target price to $315 from $550, citing a \u201cbrand crisis tornado that has now turned into an F5 tornado.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cTesla has essentially become a political symbol globally,\u201d Ives wrote, warning that Musk\u2019s identity is now inseparable from the headwinds facing his company, the WaPo report said.<\/li>\n
  • During a virtual appearance at a far-right Italian political conference, Musk called for a \u201cfree trade zone\u201d between the US and Europe, adding, \u201cboth Europe and the United States should move ideally… to a zero-tariff situation.\u201d <\/li>\n
  • Musk also suggested liberalized immigration between the US and Europe, stating, \u201cThat has certainly been my advice to the president.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    What they\u2019re saying<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
      \n
    • Musk has not minced words\u2014online or off. In a series of X posts, he attacked Peter Navarro, Trump\u2019s top trade adviser, ridiculing his academic background: \u201cA PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing.\u201d In a now-deleted post, he went further, saying Navarro \u201cain\u2019t built s\u2014.\u201d<\/li>\n
    • Navarro declined to comment directly on Musk\u2019s criticisms, but later told CNBC that Musk\u2019s views were seen within the administration as \u201cthose of a car assembler,\u201d not a trade strategist. \u201cHe is a car person,\u201d Navarro said. \u201cThat\u2019s what he loves.\u201d<\/li>\n
    • Kimbal Musk, Elon\u2019s brother and fellow Tesla board member, added fuel to the fire, writing on X: \u201cWho would have thought that Trump was actually the most high tax American President in generations? Through his tariff strategy, Trump has implemented a structural, permanent tax on the American consumer.\u201d<\/li>\n
    • Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, sounded the alarm: \u201cTesla has essentially become a political symbol globally \u2026 and that is a very bad thing for the future of this disruptive tech stalwart and the brand crisis tornado that has now turned into an F5 tornado.\u201d Ives slashed Tesla\u2019s price target from $550 to $315.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

      Zoom in: Wall Street has joined the revolt<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
        \n
      • JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wrote that Trump\u2019s tariffs \u201cwill likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession<\/keyword>.\u201d <\/li>\n
      • Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called them an \u201ceconomic nuclear winter.\u201d <\/li>\n
      • Billionaires Stan Druckenmiller, Ken Fisher, and Larry Fink all voiced concerns about the trade war<\/keyword>\u2019s impact on investment and global market stability.<\/li>\n
      • On Capitol Hill, some GOP senators are feeling the heat. Senator Ted Cruz, a vocal Trump supporter, labeled the tariffs a \u201cmassive tax increase\u201d on American consumers and warned of \u201cenormous risks.\u201d Cruz called Musk \u201cone of the angels\u201d trying to steer Trump toward a more balanced trade strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

        Between the lines<\/span>
        Musk\u2019s opposition to tariffs is not new. Tesla filed a lawsuit during Trump\u2019s first term to challenge tariffs on Chinese imports. At the time, Musk vacillated between backing the lawsuit and distancing himself after right-wing criticism accused him of aligning with China.
        Still, his public pivot this time feels different. Musk appears willing to risk his status inside the Trump camp to oppose what he views as bad economic policy. His appeals to Friedman\u2019s free-trade ideology and repeated calls for zero tariffs suggest a deeper philosophical divide with Trump\u2019s economic nationalism.
        Some insiders say Musk believed Trump might be open to negotiation, particularly if economic data worsens or the stock market slides further. That may explain Musk\u2019s later attempt at a more conciliatory tone, endorsing an X thread from the US Trade Representative about unfair global trade practices. \u201cGood points,\u201d Musk wrote.
        What\u2019s next?<\/span>
        Musk\u2019s days inside the administration may be numbered. He is expected to depart his DOGE post in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, other business leaders are quietly organizing a coalition to lobby Trump officials for more moderate trade policies. Treasury secretary Bessent hinted over the weekend that some tariffs could be part of a broader negotiating tactic.
        Still, Trump shows no sign of retreat. He\u2019s threatened to veto bipartisan legislation that would limit his unilateral tariff powers. The White House remains publicly united: \u201cWhen [Trump] makes a decision, everyone rows in the same direction to execute,\u201d said press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
        The bottom line<\/span>
        Musk made a personal, political, and ideological bet that he could steer Trump off the tariff cliff. He lost\u2014at least for now. The failed effort underscores the limits of even the most powerful insiders when clashing with Trump\u2019s instincts. And with the global economy hanging in the balance, the costs of that loss could be just beginning.<\/span>
        If Musk can’t stop Trump…<\/span>
        What makes Musk\u2019s failure so striking isn\u2019t just the scale of his wealth or influence. It\u2019s that if a megadonor, top adviser, and media empire owner can\u2019t change Trump\u2019s mind, it\u2019s unclear who can.
        For now, the billionaire revolt is real but disjointed. Some are posting. Some are calling senators. Some are just hoping it all passes.
        But with Musk\u2019s own fortune on the line \u2014 and with Tesla\u2019s brand increasingly politicized \u2014 the fallout from this failed intervention may just be getting started.
        (With inputs from agencies)<\/div>\n