Tesla’s Board member and Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal attacked on Wednesday Donald Trump’s top trade adviser Peter Navarro after he criticized Tesla‘s CEO earlier in the week, saying that Musk is not “a car manufacturer”, but a “car assembler in many cases”.
The criticism from Peter Navarro came after Elon Musk stated last weekend he would support a “free trade situation” between Europe and North America, dismissing the U.S. tariffs imposed by Trump last week.
Trump’s trade adviser did not hold back on Tesla’s criticism. “He’s not a car manufacturer,” Navarro said about Musk. “He’s a car assembler in many cases. If you go to his Texas plant, a good part of the engines that he gets, which in the EV case is the batteries come from Japan and come from China.” [Full statement below]
Tesla’s CEO took to the social media platform X to reply to Navarro, where he called the adviser “dumber than a sack of bricks” on Tuesday, escalating the feud between the two Trump aides, which the U.S. President has not yet commented on.
He later added a reply to a post from his brother, Kimbal Musk, where he ironically apologized. “I’d like to apologize to bricks for calling Peter Retarrdo dumber than a sack of bricks. That was so unfair to bricks.”
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Elon Musk is estimated to have lost roughly $31 billion since Donald Trump confirmed the 25% tariffs last week driven by Tesla’s stock price fall.
Kimbal Musk Defends Tesla
Musk’s brother joined the discussion on X by questioning Peter Navarro’s knowledge of Tesla’s supply chain: “This guy is in charge of trade?” When asked about supporting local manufacturing by an X user, Kimbal Musk stated that “Tesla is the most American made car in the country” and “the most impactful company towards a sustainable environment.”
“A Tesla car needs about 10,000 parts to ship a finished car. If even 1,000 of those parts are made out of country, it can change the price of the car to the American consumer by thousands of dollars”, he added, mentioning that “many of these parts are not fungible (they cannot be replaced locally)”.
Tesla board member Kimbal Musk has been commenting on the tariffs for the past few days on X, stating that the President “implemented a structural, permanent tax on the American consumer”.
Later on Tuesday, the brother of Tesla‘s chief executive called Navarro a “C-minus student” and called on Donald Trump: “Mr President, if Peter Navarro has lied to you about Ron Vara, what else has he lied to you about? Put America first and fire him!”
America’s Most American Made EVs
According to a study by Cars.com, Tesla’s Model Y was the most American-made vehicle for the third consecutive year in 2024. The study ranks 100 vehicles based on assembly location, parts content, engine origin, transmission origin and U.S. manufacturing workforce.
Three of the company’s models rank among the top 10 most American-made cars — models Y, S (4th position) and X (9th position) — across all powertrains. When considering only pure electric vehicles, Tesla ranks among the top 5, with its Model 3 sedan in 5th position.
Tariff Effects
Tesla produces all of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. domestically, which dramatically lowers the impact of the 25% tariffs on imported EVs and its parts announced by Trump last week. However, Elon Musk stated on X in late March that, while “the cost is not trivial”, “this will affect the price of parts in Tesla cars that come from other countries.”
Ford manufactures 77% of its U.S.-sold vehicles in the country, with 21% coming from Canada and Mexico and 2% from other regions. General Motors produces 52% in the U.S., 30% in Canada and Mexico, and 18% elsewhere.
As Detroit automakers are the most affected by Trump’s measures, Ford‘s CEO Jim Farley invited on Tuesday, without naming Peter Navarro, anyone to visit the brand’s Michigan plant, saying “We should never lose sight of the breadth and value of American innovation.”
Farley added that “it’s the lifeblood of our economy and extends beyond assembly”, referring to Navarro’s comments about Elon Musk and Tesla.
