- DOGE Chair Elon Musk is publicly criticizing President Donald Trump’s tariffs and those who are in charge of implementing his trade policy. Musk most recently shared a video on X of economist Milton Friedman explaining free market economics using a pencil.
- Musk is calling for a free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union.
- The European Commission president said she is prepared to negotiate a zero-for-zero tariff, but individual countries within are prepared to retaliate if they can’t reach a deal.
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Elon Musk shared a video of Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman sitting in a chair holding a pencil, explaining how it’s assembled with pieces from all over the world.
“There’s not a single person in the world who could make this pencil,” Friedman explained.
“The operation of the free market is so essential not only to promote productive efficiency but to promote harmony and peace among the peoples of the world,” he continued.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2025
Musk posted this video for his 218 million followers on X as a statement against President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has aligned with the president closely in the first few months of the administration, but he is breaking rank on the new tariffs.
Who else is Musk criticizing?
He has been critical not only of the president’s policy but also of those in charge of implementing it.
“The president wants to charge those countries what they charge us,” Peter Navarro stated on CNN.
Navarro is the president’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, with a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard.
Musk commented on the video, “A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing. Results in the ego/brains.”
Musk’s net worth has decreased by tens of billions of dollars since Trump imposed worldwide tariffs on April 2. Tesla stock fell more than 12% over the last five days.
What is Musk’s proposed solution?
In a phone interview with Italy’s deputy prime minister, Musk said he hoped for a free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated she is prepared to negotiate a zero-for-zero tariff agreement on industrial goods with the U.S. Meanwhile, EU member countries are preparing their own retaliatory tariffs if they can’t reach a deal.
Trump announced he would immediately begin negotiations with countries that have requested meetings to reach a trade deal or at least a reduction in tariffs.
