Tariff war: Inside Elon Musk’s personal appeal to Donald Trump – and why it failed

Elon Musk is used to being heard. He leads some of the world’s most high-profile companies and owns one of the most influential social media platforms: X. Musk, the world’s richest person, is one of US President Donald Trump’s most visible allies. This past weekend, Musk made personal pleas to Trump to halt a sweeping new round of tariffs. But Trump didn’t budge.

According to the Washington Post, Musk’s behind-the-scenes intervention, confirmed by two sources familiar with the exchange, failed to stop the administration’s latest salvo: A 10% baseline tariff on all US imports, with steeper duties on countries like China.