Elon Musk Apologizes to a Sack of Bricks for Comparing It to Peter Navarro

The simmering feud between Elon Musk and Peter Navarro has officially ignited into a full-blown public brawl, with the Tesla CEO escalating his rhetoric and ridiculing Navarro, a top White House trade adviser, as “dumber than a sack of bricks.”

The insult came in response to Navarro’s recent televised interview in which he dismissed Musk’s push for tariff-free trade and publicly labeled him “a car assembler” — not a real manufacturer. Musk, who has already lost significant influence in Washington amid the administration’s increasingly protectionist trade agenda, fired back on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), calling Navarro “truly a moron” and blasting his comments as “demonstrably false.”

In a follow-up post, Musk doubled down, adding, “Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks.” A few hours later, in classic Musk fashion, he issued a sarcastic apology: “That comparison was so unfair… to bricks.”

What began as a policy disagreement over tariffs has now become one of the most bitter and bizarre personality clashes inside the U.S. political economy — one that is drawing attention from both the media and lawmakers.

The spark for the latest round of verbal warfare was Navarro’s Monday appearance on CNBC, where he dismissed Musk’s call for zero tariffs between the U.S. and Europe. Navarro argued that Tesla, despite its high-tech image, depends heavily on imported components and accused Musk of pushing policies that benefit his bottom line.

“He’s a car assembler,” Navarro said. “He wants the cheap foreign parts. But we want American tires, American transmissions, American engines — and American jobs.”

The comment struck a nerve with Musk, who has grown increasingly vocal in recent weeks over what he sees as a misguided, self-defeating trade policy. Musk argues that protectionist measures will only hurt consumers, slow innovation, and damage the very industries the administration claims to protect.

“What Navarro says here is demonstrably false,” Musk posted shortly after the interview aired. “Tesla has the most American-made cars.”

The White House attempted to downplay the dispute during Tuesday’s press briefing, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt brushing off the tension as a difference of opinion between two strong personalities.

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

But behind the scenes, sources say the administration is privately frustrated by the distraction — especially as it tries to rally support for its controversial new wave of tariffs aimed at nearly 60 countries. Musk’s criticism, though informal, has been amplified across business and political circles, and his scathing posts are undermining efforts to present a unified economic front.

Even members of Congress are taking notice. On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took to the Senate floor to highlight the growing dysfunction within the President’s economic team.

“The chaos within the Trump administration was shown a few minutes ago when Elon Musk called Peter Navarro, the chief architect of these tariffs, a moron,” Schumer said. “Their plan is so crazy, so controversial, that this administration cannot get its act together — with them calling names about each other, about this tariff plan.”

Schumer’s comments point to a deeper concern within Capitol Hill: that internal divisions and increasingly personal clashes among high-profile figures could threaten to destabilize what is already a fragile global trade landscape.

Behind the name-calling lies a serious policy debate with trillions of dollars at stake. Navarro, long a proponent of economic nationalism, sees tariffs as a tool to revive U.S. industry, reduce dependence on foreign supply chains, and rebalance decades of trade deficits.

Musk, by contrast, favors open markets and international collaboration. His companies, especially Tesla, rely on complex global supply chains that would be disrupted by tariffs. Although Tesla does manufacture vehicles in the United States, many of its parts come from countries like Japan, China, and Taiwan — a point Navarro was quick to seize upon in dismissing Musk’s manufacturing credibility.

However, Musk pushed back with data, claiming that Tesla has been ranked at the top of the “most American-made” index for several years, surpassing even traditional U.S. automakers.

“We build here. We employ here. And we innovate here,” Musk wrote in a separate X post. “Navarro’s argument isn’t just dumb — it’s dangerous.”

The breakdown in the relationship between Musk and the White House economic team is particularly striking considering Musk’s previous involvement in federal policy discussions. Once seen as a semi-outsider with insider access, Musk attended advisory meetings during the first term and often offered input on issues ranging from deregulation to infrastructure.

But as Trump’s administration — led by Navarro on trade — hardened its stance against globalism and leaned further into protectionism, Musk’s influence faded. The Tesla CEO’s recent attempts to reverse or soften those policies have largely fallen flat.

“It’s clear Musk no longer holds sway,” said Reagan Maddox, a D.C.-based policy strategist. “And Navarro is making sure the public knows it.”

At its core, the Musk–Navarro feud is about more than personality — it’s about clashing worldviews. Navarro sees globalism as an existential threat to American sovereignty and jobs. Musk views it as the path to innovation and prosperity.

“This isn’t just a Twitter fight,” said Dr. Hannah Lester, an economist at MIT. “It’s a high-stakes ideological conflict playing out in real time — and the outcome could shape the future of U.S. trade policy.”

That conflict is now spilling into the public sphere with the kind of language rarely seen between major players in policy debates.

While Navarro has not responded directly to Musk’s latest insults, aides close to him say he considers the matter “closed” and that his focus remains on implementing the new tariffs. However, few believe Navarro will remain silent if Musk continues the attacks.

Musk, for his part, appears unfazed. Known for his confrontational style and deep belief in free-market capitalism, he is unlikely to let the matter drop quietly. Some observers believe this feud could escalate further, especially if tariffs begin to directly impact Tesla’s bottom line or spark consumer backlash.

In a time when business leaders often tread carefully around Washington politics, Musk is breaking the mold — loudly and unapologetically.

The Musk–Navarro feud may be entertaining, but it reveals a deeper instability in the administration’s economic approach. With global markets watching closely, the spat has become more than a sideshow. It’s now a symbol of internal disarray — and of the increasing divide between the tech-driven future and the tariff-driven present.

Whether this dispute will lead to any substantive policy changes remains unclear. But one thing is certain: the gloves are off, and Musk is not backing down.

“Dumber than a sack of bricks,” Musk wrote. “Apologies to the bricks.”