Elon Musk Admits He Is the Designer of Donald Trump's Tariff

Elon Musk is behind the numbers. Behind the plans. Behind the policies. He doesn’t speak directly, but now it’s clear: the new wave of tariffs hitting every corner of the planet doesn’t come solely from Trump. Elon has helped design them. From the mathematics behind the percentages to the backdoor strategies shaping the administration’s trade war, Elon is not an outsider. And although he avoids saying it outright, the fingerprints are his. As we know, Elon is currently Donald Trump’s closest friend at the White House, temporarily running the department that Trump established and calls the “Department of Government Efficiency” or DOGE. He has been working in the administration since January after funding Trump’s campaign with hundreds of millions of dollars. Musk clashes with Navarro as Europe prepares to counter Trump Elon’s voice is not loud, but it is continuous. Over the weekend, he appeared via video link at a meeting of Italy’s far-right League party. During that appearance, Elon stated that he wants the U.S. and Europe to establish a “tariff-free” free trade area, adding, “Both Europe and the U.S. should move to a tariff-free status; in my view, ideally, we should create a free trade area between Europe and North America.” Elon has passed this comment on to Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. He also called for increased mobility of workers between the United States and Europe, although he did not say whether that advice related to tariffs or immigration. That’s not the only advice he gave. Elon often goes in and out of the Oval Office, providing economic opinions for Trump, although not directly involved in official trade policy. Trump even said this week that Elon could leave the White House “in a few months,” but until then, he still has a handle on the situation. While Elon supports the broader direction of Trump’s trade policy, he also criticizes others shaping this approach. On Saturday, he criticized Peter Navarro, the former White House economic advisor from Trump’s first term. Elon wrote on X that Navarro’s Harvard degree is “a bad thing” and criticized him for “never having built anything.” Navarro has long supported extreme tariffs and helped write trade actions in the past. Elon clearly wants everyone to know that this round is not Navarro’s work. Mark Cuban directly called out Elon. “Hey Elon, you could be the greatest producer of all time. Do you need protective tariffs to produce in the United States?” he wrote. Instead, he pointed to private capital, Elon’s own investments, and government incentives as the real driving forces behind his success in manufacturing. Mark added, “By the way, what I respect most about you is that you put all your money into startups. Most people don’t have the courage to do that.” After someone asked about the strategy behind tariffs, Mark replied: “If Elon’s goal is to reduce the deficit first and everything else is secondary, then the easiest way is for DOGE to cut back significantly and implement tariffs like this.” Mark stated that the idea is to weaken the economy enough to force the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. But that plan is very risky. “The problem with this strategy is that tariffs at this level are extremely inflationary. Therefore, the Fed cannot just cut interest rates, as this would worsen inflation. And further slow down the economy.” Mark also raised another issue. “Suppose China and the rest of the world come back and say that we will apply a 0% tax on American goods, without any other manipulation, if the United States does the same. So, there are no taxes or tricks in this way or that way. I would ask you. Should he say yes?” While Mark doubts that it will be effective, Elon is still promoting the dream of a zero tariff. But that dream is completely at odds with the reality he has helped create: a trade war with almost every major economy. And Tesla, his own company, is not immune either. Tesla manufactures cars in California and Texas, thus being less affected by the new car tax than other companies. However, Elon has stated that the company’s operations in China may be impacted. Elon still acts publicly as if he is not leading trade policy. But evidence shows otherwise. Trump’s tariff rates are actually calculated using trade deficit numbers. That kind of math is not Peter Navarro’s style. Wondering who will incite and allow this absurdity. Elon is expected to leave his role as a White House advisor after his 130-day term ends—but the damage has been done. His ideas have been locked into Trump’s policy.