Elon Musk Slams Trump Trade Adviser Peter Navarro As A ‘Moron’ Who Is ‘Dumber Than A Sack Of Bricks’

Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, calling him a “moron” who is “dumber than a sack of bricks.”

During an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box on April 7, Navarro stated that Musk is “not a car manufacturer” but “a car assembler.”

“In many cases, if you go to his Texas plant, a good part of the engines that – that he gets, which, in the EV case, is the batteries come from Japan and come from China,” he added. “The electronics come from Taiwan.”

He then discussed why the Tesla CEO’s role as a “car assembler” conflicts with President Donald Trump’s newly implemented set of tariffs on all imports, which were announced on April 2.

These tariffs include a minimum baseline tax of 10% on all trading partners and additional levies on specific countries, such as China and EU members.

“What we want – and the difference is in our thinking, and Elon’s on this, is that we want the tires made in Akron,” Navarro shared. “We want the transmissions made in Indianapolis. We want the engines made in Flint and Saginaw and the cars manufactured here.”

“It’s like this business model where BMW and Mercedes come into Spartanburg, South Carolina and have us assemble German engines and Austrian transmissions.

“That doesn’t work for America. It isn’t good for our economics. It’s bad for our national security. We want them to come here.

“And with Elon, it’s fine. He’s a carman. He’s a car person. That’s what he does.

“And he wants the cheap foreign parts, and we understand that. But we want him home. We want them home. You expect national security, economic security and everything’s good with Elon.”

On Tuesday morning, Musk shared multiple X posts in which he attacked Navarro’s claims about his position as a “car assembler.”

“Navarro is truly a moron,” he claimed on his social media platform. “What he says here is demonstrably false.

“Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks.

“By any definition whatsoever, Tesla is the most vertically integrated auto manufacturer in America with the highest percentage of US content.”

He also called Navarro “Peter R-tardo” in a separate X post.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed Musk’s comments on his platform during a press briefing on Tuesday.

“These are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs,” Leavitt wrote. “Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue.”

“I think it also speaks to the president’s willingness to hear from all sides that he has  people at the highest levels of this government, in this White House, who have very diverse opinions on very diverse issues.”

Tesla stock is down more than 51% from its all-time high, which was set in December 2024, while Musk’s net worth dropped by $144.4 billion since the 2024 presidential election.