'Boys will be boys': White House on Elon Musk vs Peter Navarro tariff clash

Peter Navarro rejected Elon Musk's call for 'zero tariffs' with Europe, labelling him a 'car assembler'. Musk fired back, calling Navarro a 'moron'

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s recent outburst targeting Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, has stirred headlines, with Musk branding him a ‘moron’ and ‘dumber than a sack of bricks’. In response, the White House termed it as merely a case of ‘boys will be boys’. 

Commenting on whether the dispute could affect how the public perceives tariff policies, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, “These are obviously two different individuals who have very different views on trade and tariffs. Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue. And you guys should be very grateful that we have the most transparent administration in history and I think it also speaks to the President’s willingness to hear from all sides. He has people at the highest levels of the government and White House.” 

 

“He has very diverse opinions on very diverse issues but the President takes all opinions in mind and then he makes the best decision based on the best interest of the American public,” she said.

 

The feud

Tensions between Musk and Navarro, which had been brewing, erupted after Navarro criticised Musk during a CNBC appearance on Monday. The adviser dismissed Musk’s advocacy for ‘zero tariffs’ with Europe, suggesting the Tesla chief was merely a ‘car assembler’ dependent on overseas components. 

Navarro claimed, “In many cases, if you go to his Texas plant, a good part of the engines that he gets, which in the EV case are the batteries, come from Japan and come from China. The electronics come from Taiwan. The difference is, in our thinking and Elon’s on this, is that we want the tyres made in Akron. We want the transmissions made in Indianapolis. We want the engines made in Flint and Saginaw. And we want the cars manufactured here.” 

Musk quickly hit back on X, calling Navarro’s statements ‘demonstrably false’. He added, “Navarro is truly a moron. Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks.” 

He continued his rebuttal in a follow-up post, saying, “By any definition whatsoever, Tesla is the most vertically integrated auto manufacturer in America with the highest percentage of US content. Navarro should ask the fake expert he invented, Ron Vara.”

Musk also used a slur directed at Navarro, referring to him as ‘Peter Retarrdo’ — a comment that has drawn widespread criticism online.