Ammon News - Elon Musk has made personal appeals to Donald Trump to reverse his new wave of sweeping tariffs, The Washington Post reported over the weekend. As tensions rose over a planned 50% tariff on Chinese imports, Musk turned to social media to voice his opposition — while also trying to influence the president directly.

Two people familiar with the matter confirmed the outreach, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the private discussions. Their efforts appear to have fallen short. Trump, despite some openness to negotiations, has doubled down on his plans, following an earlier announcement of 34% tariffs last week.

A long history of trade tensions
This isn’t Musk’s first clash with Trump over trade. In 2020, Tesla sued the Trump administration to challenge earlier tariffs. Though Musk initially supported the move, he later reacted negatively, reportedly berating staff after the decision. The lawsuit became a lightning rod for criticism on the right, who accused Musk of being too cosy with Beijing and undercutting Trump’s "America First" stance.

Now, as fresh tariffs roll out, many of Musk’s allies within the tech and business world are again scrambling. Some have made their own appeals to Trump officials like Vice President JD Vance. Investor Joe Lonsdale, a longtime friend of Musk, publicly stated:

“I argued to friends in the administration in recent days that tariffs would hurt American companies more than Chinese ones.” Economic Times