As Elon Musk’s empire implodes, the world’s richest victim blames the rules he once loved

Elon Musk can no longer hide the flop sweat beading on his forehead as he realizes his cozy bromance with Donald Trump — let’s call it what it is, a “deal with the devil”— is turning out to be one of the worst business decisions of his life.

In what might be the most embarrassing corporate crawling-back, Tesla previously dispatched an unsigned letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The letter was complaining about how Trump’s tariffs on imported goods were wreaking havoc on Tesla’s global supply chain. Tesla’s global sales have nosedived, particularly in Europe, where competitors like Volkswagen are eating its lunch. Its stock price? Free-falling. Since its high of $479.86 in December 2024, Tesla’s shares have lost over 50% of their value, wiping out more than $800 billion in market cap. Yet throughout this economic bloodbath, Musk has been Trump’s hype man.

But even the world’s most committed yes-man has his breaking point. Musk’s facade cracked spectacularly when he launched a broadside against Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser and one of the architects of the “Liberation Day” tariffs. In a post on his beloved X , Musk dismissed the guy as someone who “ain’t built s–t” and even took a swipe at his Harvard PhD, calling it “a bad thing, not a good thing.”

Wow. Elon is attacking Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro on the tariffs.

Musk lost $18 billion on Tesla stock alone this week. pic.twitter.com/jWxkapIPLG

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) April 5, 2025

Musk even doubled down by agreeing with a quote from economist Thomas Sowell, calling out Harvard-educated elites for being at the center of every disaster in American history. Navarro, for his part, tried to downplay the feud. In a Fox News interview, he brushed off Musk’s comments, claiming that Tesla’s struggles are just Musk “protecting his own interests.” He even said there’s “no rift here.”

Nevertheless, desperate Musk has now gone full throttle on his vision for a borderless, economically unified future. In a videoconference with Italy’s far-right League party, the billionaire pitched for a free-trade zone across the Atlantic.

He also floated the idea of deeper ties between the U.S. and Europe, including “more freedom of people to move between Europe and North America.” While it’s tempting to applaud his idealism, it’s also hard to ignore the fact that Musk is pushing for policies that directly align with Tesla’s self-interest. Eliminating tariffs would make it far easier for Tesla to sell its products in Europe without the added costs that have been eating into its profits.

What’s more, his comments are unlikely to win him any allies within Trump’s inner circle. Figures like Peter Navarro and even Trump himself have built their political brands on opposing the kind of global economic integration Musk is now championing. As his empire crumbles, he’s starting to look less like a genius and more like a guy who got in over his head. The world’s richest man blaming everyone but himself? That’s not innovation — that’s classic victimhood.