Musk desperately tried to persuade Trump to revoke his decision, but ended up greatly disappointed. Trump gave no face to anyone.
When the reciprocal tariffs were implemented, everyone was watching how Musk would react. The tariff war initiated during Trump's last term also severely affected Musk's business empire, and this time was no exception. According to private messages from insiders to American media, Musk directly approached Trump, hoping the president would cancel the tariffs, but failed.
Don't be fooled by Musk being Trump's top favorite now; on the issue of tariffs, he has little influence. Trump showed him no mercy.
However, Musk cannot stand idly by. Every day of delay brings a greater impact on his enterprises due to the reciprocal tariffs. Due to the complex and sensitive Sino-US relations, Musk can only avoid direct involvement to prevent criticism.
Now that his persuasion of Trump was unsuccessful, he could only subtly comment on Trump's policy advisors through social media, retweeting some explanatory videos about the "international economic and trade operation system." However, this approach was not very effective. Musk couldn't afford to break with Trump publicly or undermine the president, as Trump wouldn't show any leniency either if retaliated against.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828802080422148/
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