CNBC Explains Musk, whose relationship with the U.S. president appears to be on the mend having soured in May over Trump's spending bill, also raised concerns over the U.S. administration's tariff policy. Once a close aid of Trump, Musk said he tried to dissuade the president from taking the tariff route, but was unsuccessful. "I think generally free trade is better" Musk said, adding that tariffs create distortions in markets. If tariffs at an individual level, or within each state of U.S. would be disastrous for the economy, "then why do you want tariffs between countries?" he said. The Tesla CEO, who spearheaded the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency that was recently disbanded with eight months left to its mandate, according to Reuters, said "the president has made it clear he loves tariffs." Trump has levied "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of countries, with several managing to strike a deal with the U.S. to lower levies. In the podcast with Kamath covering a wide range of topics, Musk also laid out his vision for the future, forecasting that working will be optional in less than 20 years and money as a concept would "disappear." Energy is the true currency, Musk said. "This is why I said bitcoin is based on energy. You can't legislate energy."