Musk made direct appeals to Trump to reverse new tariffs, Washington Post reports

 

WASHINGTON - Tech billionaire and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk made direct but unsuccessful appeals to US President Donald Trump to reverse tariffs over the past weekend, The Washington Post reported on April 7 citing two people familiar with the matter.

This exchange marks the highest profile disagreement between the President and Mr Musk, the report said. It follows Mr Trump’s unveiling of a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all imports to the US, along with higher duties on dozens of other countries.

The White House and Mr Musk did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Mr Musk, a Trump adviser who has been working to eliminate wasteful US public spending, called for zero tariffs between the US and Europe during a virtual interaction at a congress in Florence of Italy’s right-wing, co-ruling League Party over the weekend.

Tesla has seen its quarterly sales drop sharply amid a backlash against Mr Musk’s work with a new Department of Government Efficiency. The company’s shares are trading at US$233.29 (S$314) as at its last close on April 7, down over 42 per cent since the beginning of 2025.

Mr Musk had previously said the impact of Mr Trump’s auto tariffs on Tesla is “significant”.

Economists say the tariffs could reignite inflation, raise the risk of a US recession and boost costs for the average US family by thousands of dollars – a potential liability for a president who campaigned on a promise to bring down the cost of living. REUTERS