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With the intensification of Trump’s trade conflict with China,
The White House seems to be growing more wary regarding Elon Musk’s participation in foreign policy talks due to possible conflicts of interest. Earlier, this was not the case.
Tesla
The CEO and prominent advisor to President Trump was allowed considerable freedom to conduct high-level discussions with international leaders. However, it appears that the Oval Office now intends to start creating some space between the world’s wealthiest individual and matters of diplomacy.
After Elon Musk was appointed as an advisor and special government employee during the Trump administration, numerous people questioned whether his personal business ventures could position him against some of President Trump’s policies.
Tariffs – and the resulting trade war with China – seem to be the factors that might lead to a split between them.
The
New York Times
In March, we reported that Musk was slated to participate in an upper-tier meeting at the Pentagon regarding U.S. strategies in case of a military confrontation with China.
The president denied the story, saying China was never scheduled to be discussed in the meeting, and an investigation into the leak ensued.
The probe has resulted in several officials being removed from their positions.
Politico reports
.
At the time, Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the story is “completely untrue” with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth adding on X: “The fake news delivers again—this is NOT a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans.’ It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies, and smarter production.”
Musk’s trip to the Pentagon proceeded as planned, and following his visit, the CEO of Tesla mentioned that the
meeting had been “great.”
Nevertheless, recent reports indicate that the focus of Musk’s meeting at the Pentagon shifted away from China, following President Trump’s instructions.
Axios
reported the president didn’t want Musk in the room for conversations about conflict with the foreign rival.
Both the White House and representatives for Musk have been contacted by
for comment.
Whether or not Trump intervened on the Pentagon meeting, the White House is clearly aware that Musk has a vested interest in how America’s trade war with China plays out—and needs to manage the situation accordingly.
Trump even
told reporters
at the White House, following the
New York Times
report, that “certainly you wouldn’t show [military plans] to a businessman.”
Trump added: “Elon conducts business in China, so he might be vulnerable to that.”
The distance Trump is now creating between foreign diplomacy and Musk is a stark change from a matter of months ago, when the White House confirmed Musk would be self-policing when conflicts of interest arose in his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Indeed, when India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, visited Washington, D.C., in February, Trump
said he “didn’t know”
what the nature of his meeting with Musk was about.
“They met, and I assume [Musk] wants to do business in India,” Trump told reporters.
The nonchalant approach toward Musk’s interactions with foreign leaders has seemingly changed as tensions around Trump’s tariff policy have heated up.
China
, in particular, has responded forcefully to the headline policy of Trump’s second term.
The U.S. now
effectively imposes a 145% tariff on Chinese imports
, with China
imposing a
124.1% rate on imports from America
.
Tesla’s interest in China is significant.
While the EV maker produces its vehicles in the U.S., it exports them in droves to China, which represents
its second-largest market.
BYD—which is Tesla’s main competitor—is set to boost its sales even more in China due to its status as a local manufacturer.
Tariff showdown
The president’s resistance to let Musk get close to details about China comes as the X owner has increased his oppositional rhetoric to Trump’s tariff policy.
Already Tesla—the company from which Musk derives the bulk of his wealth—has made its stance on tariffs known and
cautioned the White House in an unsigned letter
: “U.S. exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to U.S. trade actions.”
And the richest man on the planet hasn’t disguised the fact that he is anti-tariff.
Speaking with
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, earlier this month, Musk said: “I’m hopeful, for example, with the tariffs … that at the end of the day … it is agreed that Europe and the U.S. should move, ideally in my view, to a zero-tariff situation—effectively creating a free-trade zone between Europe and North America.”
Two sources also previously told the
Washington Post
that Musk had tried to intervene on tariffs, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
Perhaps the most telling sign of the policy rift is Musk’s criticism of Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s top trade advisors, particularly on tariff policy.
Musk publicly called Navarro a “moron,” adding: “Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks.”
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