Elon Musk hopes for ‘zero-tariff situation’ between U.S. and EU

Elon Musk speaks via video link with Matteo Salvini, leader of the Lega per Salvini Premier party, during the Lega party federal congress in Florence, Italy, on Saturday, April 5. (Claudio Giovannini/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock via CNN Newsource)

 Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and the face of the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, said Saturday that he hopes for a “zero-tariff situation” between Europe and the United States.

“At the end of the day, I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free-trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said in a video-link interview with Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and the leader of the far-right League party, during a League congress in Florence.

Musk’s comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced 20 per cent tariffs on goods from the European Union.

In an exchange Saturday on his social media platform, X, Musk slammed Peter Navarro, the Trump administration’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, who has championed the tariffs.

“A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing,” Musk posted about Navarro’s academic background. The Tesla CEO also added of Navarro: “He ain’t built sh*t.”

Musk, meanwhile, has seen Tesla sales plunge in recent months amid his controversial cost-cutting role with DOGE. Sales fell 49 per cent in Europe alone in the first two months of the quarter, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

In Italy, Tesla’s first-quarter sales slid seven per cent compared with the same time last year, according to the country’s transport ministry.

Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said Saturday that Italy, which posted a trade surplus with the United States of about 39 billion euros (US$42.74 billion) in 2024, aims for a “de-escalation” with the United States over tariffs.

In 2024, Italy’s economy grew by just 0.5 per cent compared with 2023.