The brother of Elon Musk, Kimbal Musk, blasted President Donald Trump’s new tariff policies in a post on X this week, calling the measures a “permanent tax on the American consumer.”
Kimbal Musk made the comment on Monday, less than a week after Trump unveiled aggressive tariffs impacting many of the world’s largest economies, including China and the European Union.
“Who would have thought that Trump was actually the most high-tax American President in generations,” Kimbal Musk said. “Through his tariff strategy, Trump has implemented a structural, permanent tax on the American consumer.”
Musk also said tariffs would lower consumerism and create fewer jobs, contradictory to the Trump administration’s previous claims.
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“Even if he is successful in bringing jobs on shore through the tariff tax, prices will remain high and the tax on consumption will remain the form of higher prices because we are simply not as good at making all things,” Musk continued. “A tax on consumption also means less consumption. Which means less jobs. Which in turn leads to less consumption. And then even less jobs.”
When an X user asked why other countries have been so concerned if the tax ultimately goes to the American consumer, Kimbal Musk said tariffs impact demand on foreign goods overall.
“Other countries care because a tax reduces consumption of their goods,” Kimbal Musk said. “Reduced consumption does not create more jobs in America. The net outcome is less jobs on both sides of the borders, and higher prices in America.”
Musk is a prominent restaurateur who co-owns The Kitchen Restaurant Group, with restaurants in Colorado, Chicago and Austin, Texas. He is also on the boards of Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX.
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Earlier this month, the Trump administration said that “tariffs are an effective tool for achieving economic and strategic objectives,” and that the tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term effectively raised employment in the U.S.
“President Trump’s first-term steel tariffs led to thousands of jobs gains in the metal industry, along with wage increases,” the White House said in an April 2 statement.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional comment on Wednesday, but they did not immediately respond.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and a prominent Trump adviser who spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency, has also encouraged the president toward “zero tariffs” between the U.S. and Europe. The suggestion marked one of the few recent instances where the Trump ally publicly disagreed with the president.
“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,” Elon Musk said.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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