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Elon Musk’s X called out Peter Navarro over his India-Russia rant and flagged his stance as “hypocritical”. Navarro attacked Musk over the community note.
Peter Navarro attacks Elon Musk over X fact check (Reuters Image)
Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro, after days of ranting over India’s imports of Russian oil, has now targeted Elon Musk – whose once shared bromance with the US President until June – over X fact-checking him for accusing New Delhi of “profiteering” from energy purchases from Moscow.
Navarro on Friday accused India of buying the Russian oil “purely to profit” to feed Russian “war machine” in Ukraine. “FACTS: India highest tariffs costs U.S. jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. U.S. taxpayers shell out more. India can’t handle truth/spins,” Navarro had posted on X.
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Hours later, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform added a community note with the title “Readers added context they thought people might want to know”.
It flagged that India’s purchase of Russian oil is for “energy security” and does not violate any sanctions. It also highlighted the United States’ import of uranium and minerals from Russia and termed it “hypocritical”.
“India’s Russian oil purchases are for energy security, not just profit, & don’t violate sanctions. While India has some tariffs, the U.S. has a trade surplus with it in services. U.S. also continues to import certain commodities from Russia which is hypocritical,” the note said.
As X fact-checked Trump’s adviser publicly, he hit out at Elon Musk, alleging “propaganda”.
Trump and Musk shared a bromance during the 2024 election campaign. The Tesla CEO even went on to head Trump’s DOGE in his administration. However, the bromance came to a bitter end in June over the President’s “big beautiful bill”.
“Wow. @elonmusk is letting propaganda into people’s posts. That crap note below is just that. Crap. India buys Russia oil solely to profiteer. It didn’t buy any before Russia invaded Ukraine. Indian govt spin machine moving high tilt. Stop killing Ukranians. Stop taking American jobs,” Navarro responded on X to the community note.
His response was once again fact-checked by X, which went on to underline that it was India’s sovereign decision to buy Russian oil which also was not a violation of any law. Musk’s platform also exposed the “double standard” of the US in its own purchase of uranium from Moscow.
“Navarro’s claims are hypocritical. India’s legal,sovereign purchases of Russian oil for energy security do not violate international law. The US,while pressuring India, continues to import billions in Russian goods, like uranium,exposing a clear double standard,” the note said.
Navarro’s remarks came even after his boss, Donald Trump, toned down his attack on India in his latest interaction with the reporters at the White House on Friday. He described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his friend, despite tensions, and said that India-US ties are “special”. PM Modi also responded to his comments, stating that he fully reciprocates his sentiments on the relations of two countries.
About the Author
Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes…Read More
Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes… Read More
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
September 07, 2025, 07:14 IST
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