Cold winds between Musk and Trump: Musk called Trump's senior advisor a 'moron'.

The latest controversy surrounding the South African-born billionaire has further fueled rumors of a growing rift between him and Trump. Alongside Musk, influential allies criticized the U.S. President's tariffs.

In a recent dispute between technology billionaire Elon Musk and members of the Trump administration, Musk referred to one of Trump's advisors as a "moron." Peter Navarro, the White House Chief Strategist and Senior Advisor to the President, made derogatory comments targeting Musk, stating that Musk is "not a car manufacturer." Navarro added during an interview with CNBC on Monday, "In many cases, he is a car assembler." The owner of Tesla and SpaceX responded on the X platform by saying Navarro is "dumber than a bag of bricks." In his latest comments, Musk implied that he does not support the U.S. tariff policies that have shaken global markets this week, adding that Navarro's remarks are "obviously wrong." White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday, "These are clearly two individuals with very different views on trade and tariffs," attempting to lighten the mood with a quip, "Men will be men, and we will allow their public spats to continue." Rumors that Musk and Trump’s relationship is deteriorating have worsened following reports that Musk tried to convince Trump to withdraw the comprehensive global tariffs he implemented last week at an event Trump dubbed "D-Day," but failed. There have also been circulating rumors that Musk, who informally runs the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will soon leave the administration. Trump’s Vice President JD Vance tried to quell the reports of rising tensions between the two by stating last week that Musk would remain "a friend and advisor." Vance said in an interview with Fox News last Thursday, "Elon came in and said, 'We need you to make the government more efficient; we need you to shrink the incredible bureaucracy that costs a lot of money and obstructs the will of the American people.' We said, 'This will take about six months,' and Elon signed on for that. Of course, he will continue to be an advisor, and in the meantime, DOGE's work is far from finished, and Elon’s work is far from finished." Supporters continue to speak out. Meanwhile, the number of influential allies of Trump who are skeptical of the tariffs has also recently increased. Dave Portnoy, owner of Barstool Sports, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, and conservative podcaster Joe Rogan have opposed the tariffs. Rogan, one of the most popular podcast hosts in the U.S., who supported Trump during last year's election campaign, said in March that Trump's fight with Canada was "stupid" and complained that during professional sporting events involving teams from both countries, Canadians were "booed because of tariffs." Recently, Rogan has also clashed with Trump on other issues, including large-scale deportations, describing a recent operation to detain immigrants as "horrible." Navarro, one of the biggest supporters of Trump’s trade policies, claimed that the U.S. trade deficits are the result of "the sum of all the tricks" from other countries. The tariffs, which analysts have described as inherently dubious and stemming from a warped idea of global trade linked to Trump’s preoccupation with trade deficits, have panicked global financial markets and increased the risk of recession. They have also disrupted the political and economic alliances that stabilized much of the world for business after World War II.