Musk made direct appeals to Trump to reverse new tariffs, Washington Post reports

Tech-billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk made direct but unsuccessful appeals to US President Donald Trump to reverse tariffs at the past weekend, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The exchange marks the highest profile disagreement between the president and Musk, the report said. It comes after Trump's unveiling of a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on dozens of other countries.

The White House and Musk did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Musk, a Trump adviser who has been working to eliminate wasteful US public spending, called for zero tariffs between the US and Europe during a virtual interaction at a congress in Florence of Italy's right-wing, co-ruling League Party at the weekend.

Tesla has seen its quarterly sales drop sharply amid a backlash against Musk's work with the department of government efficiency. The company's shares are trading at $233.29 (R4,523.12) as of its last close on Monday, down more than 42% since the beginning of the year.

Musk has previously said the impact of Trump's auto tariffs on Tesla is “significant”.

Economists said the tariffs could reignite inflation, raise the risk of a US recession and boost costs for the average US family by thousands, a potential liability for a president who campaigned on a promise to bring down the cost of living.

Reuters