Elon Musk Calls on Trump to Reconsider New Tariffs

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Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and CEO of Tesla (TSLA), reportedly made direct appeals to U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend, urging him to reverse tariffs, but these appeals were unsuccessful, according to a Washington Post report. This marks the most high-profile disagreement between Musk and Trump to date.

The dispute follows Trump’s announcement of a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S., alongside higher duties on several other countries. Despite efforts, neither the White House nor Musk’s representatives provided immediate comments on the matter.

Musk, a long-time Trump advisor, had advocated for eliminating tariffs between the U.S. and Europe during a virtual speech at a congress in Florence, Italy, with the right-wing League Party. Meanwhile, Tesla has faced a sharp decline in quarterly sales, partly due to backlash over Musk's new "Department of Government Efficiency." Tesla's shares have fallen by more than 42% since the start of the year, closing at $233.29 on Monday.

Musk has previously acknowledged that the impact of Trump's auto tariffs on Tesla has been “significant.” Economists warn that these tariffs could reignite inflation, increase the risk of a U.S. recession, and raise costs for American families by thousands of dollars—issues that could hurt Trump's efforts to reduce the cost of living.

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author