Musk Personally Asked Trump to Drop Tariffs

Elon Musk approached U.S. President Donald Trump in a direct attempt to reverse the newly introduced import tariffs — but his efforts fell flat.

According to The Washington Post, citing sources within the administration, Musk — who currently leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — tried to persuade Trump to ease the measures, but the president refused to back down.

On his social platform X, Musk publicly criticized White House advisor Peter Navarro, one of the main architects of the tariff strategy. Musk has long opposed protectionist policies, arguing they harm Tesla, whose supply chains rely heavily on both U.S. and Chinese manufacturing.

Sources told The Washington Post that Musk isn’t alone. Several high-profile business figures who previously backed Trump are reportedly frustrated, feeling they have little influence over his current economic policies.

On April 2, Trump signed an executive order imposing new tariffs of 10% to 50% on goods from 185 countries and territories. As of April 5, a new base tariff rate of at least 10% on all imports regardless of origin has come into effect. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a rate reduction is possible in the future but did not provide a timeline or specific conditions.