No More Friends: Elon Musk Pleaded, But Trump Said No
A once-curious friendship between tech titan Elon Musk and President Donald Trump appears to be unraveling in public, following a weekend filled with behind-the-scenes pleading, televised sniping, and policy fallout. According to The Washington Post, Musk attempted — and failed — to convince Trump to reconsider his sweeping new tariff regime, a move that has already rattled markets and wiped more than $100 billion from Tesla’s market capitalization.In what is now being seen as the most visible break between Musk and the Trump administration since the latter took office for a second term, tensions spilled over as both Musk and Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, took to airwaves and social media to snipe at each other. Behind the scenes, sources say Musk privately urged Trump to abandon the aggressive tariff expansion.
But Trump held firm.“No more friends,” said a senior administration official familiar with the exchange. “Elon made his pitch, and the President said no.”
The moment marks a political and financial inflection point for both Trump and Musk. For Trump, it underscores his growing confidence in trade hawks like Navarro as he reshapes the U.S. economy in his nationalist vision. For Musk, it signals the waning of his once-outsized influence inside the administration — and possibly his departure from Trumpworld altogether.Tesla’s stock has taken a beating over the past several days, shedding over $100 billion in market value amid fears that Trump’s tariffs will spike input costs, disrupt global supply chains, and make American-made electric vehicles less competitive on the global stage. For a company like Tesla — heavily reliant on imported raw materials and global manufacturing — the economic damage is immediate.Musk made his opposition known in characteristically blunt fashion, sharing a viral clip of free-market economist Milton Friedman warning against tariffs and economic nationalism. He added no caption, letting the message speak for itself. But he didn’t stop there.
