Elon Musk’s brother: prices are a “permanent tax” on the American consumer

Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk’s younger brother, said on Monday that the slate of the reciprocal prices of President Donald Trump would be like imposing a “permanent tax” on American consumers.

“Who would have thought that Trump was in fact the most fiscal American president in generation in generation,” Musk wrote on X on Monday.

“Thanks to his pricing strategy, Trump implemented a structural and permanent tax on the American consumer,” added Musk.

Trump on Wednesday announced scanning prices in 185 countries. The prices, which start at a reference rate of 10%, will allocate both the Allies and the Rivals of the United States.

The European Union was struck by a tariff of 20%, while China was slapped with a rate of 34%. It was in addition to the 20% rate that Trump imposed on China last month, bringing it to 54%.

Trump’s prices should take effect on April 9, but this decision has already frightened investors. The S&P 500 is down by almost 14% over a year, while the composite of Nasdaq is down 19% over a year.

“I don’t want nothing to drop, but sometimes you have to take medication to repair something,” Trump said about his prices on Sunday.

Musk, however, said on Monday that Trump’s prices would harm, rather than help, America.

“Even if he succeeds in providing jobs on the shore thanks to the pricing tax, the prices will remain high and the consumption tax will remain the higher price form because we are simply not as good for doing everything,” wrote Musk in his x post.

“A tax on consumption also means less consumption. This means fewer jobs. This in turn leads to less consumption. And then even fewer jobs,” he continued, adding that America should play its strength.

Kimbal’s brother Elon is a major of Trump Backer – but broke with Trump and his administration on the prices.

On Saturday, the CEO of Tesla and Spacex said that he wanted to see a “zero-tail situation” and a “free trade area” between Europe and the United States.

Elon also criticized Trump’s best economic advisor on Saturday, Peter Navarro. The economist formed by Harvard, 75, was also part of Trump’s first administration, where he put pressure on a trade war with China.

“A doctorate in Harvard Econ is a bad thing, not a good thing,” said Elon about the academic history of Navarro.

“Results in the ego / brain >> 1 problem,” he added.

The representatives of Musk and the White House did not respond to requests for comments from Business Insider.