Elon Musk publicly lambasted Peter Navarro, a prominent trade advisor to former President Donald Trump, after experiencing a significant financial loss of $4.4 billion.

This substantial decline occurred following a staggering $31 billion drop in Musk's wealth over just two days, on April 3 and 4, 2025. Year-to-date, Musk's net worth has decreased by approximately $134.7 billion.

Navarro, regarded as the architect behind the Trump administration's tariff policies, criticized Musk's business model during a CNBC interview over the weekend, suggesting that the CEO was operating a mere 'assembler of automobiles' rather than a true automobile manufacturer.

Navarro claimed that Musk's operation relies heavily on 'cheap foreign parts', which Musk disputed.

In retort, Musk described Navarro as an 'absolute imbecile', stating that these claims were 'manifestly false.' He emphasized that Tesla has the largest share of vehicles manufactured in the United States, countering Navarro's assertion that key components of Tesla vehicles, such as electric motors and batteries, are sourced from overseas.

The exchange between Musk and Navarro highlights the escalating fractures within Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) coalition, particularly in light of new reciprocal tariffs imposed by the U.S. government on several major trading partners as of April 2, 2025. While Navarro advocates for domestic production of automotive components, Musk supports the idea that future trade agreements should foster free trade between Europe and the United States.

Musk's current financial troubles are intertwined with the ramifications of Trump's tariff policies, which have reportedly affected his wealth significantly.

Following Navarro's comments, Musk reaffirmed his criticism, framing Navarro's Harvard economics degree as a disadvantage rather than an asset, further intensifying the dispute between the two figures.