An apparent rift between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the White House over trade policy appeared to have deepened on Tuesday after a top economic adviser to President Donald Trump suggested the electric car company was dependent on foreign auto parts. 

Musk has emerged as a key player in the Trump administration, receiving praise from the president for scrutinizing federal bureaucracies for waste and fraud through the Department of Government Efficiency. But since the president unrolled steep global tariffs on April 2, Musk, who owns several multibillion-dollar companies in the United States, has pushed back against the tariffs as barriers to free trade. His comments have led to repeated rebuffs from top Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro, who said the Tesla owner is resisting the tariffs because the parts for his electric vehicles are made, “in many cases,” in Japan and China.