U.S. President Trump said on Wednesday, after announcing a 25% tariff on "all non-American made cars," that his main advisor, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, did not get involved in this matter "because he might have a (conflict of) interest."

He added that Musk had never "asked me for any help in business."

Musk is Trump's senior advisor and earlier donated $290 million to help Trump return to the White House. Although Musk still manages his companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, he also leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to cut federal spending and personnel, and consolidate or eliminate various federal agencies and services.

When asked whether the new tariffs would benefit Musk's car business, Tesla, Trump said that they could be "net neutral or even good." He pointed out that Tesla has car assembly plants in Austin, Texas, and Fremont, California, and believed that "anyone with a factory in the U.S. — it's a good thing for them."

Tesla recently wrote in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative that "even with active domestic efforts to localize the supply chain," "certain components are difficult or impossible to procure within the U.S." The company urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to "consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions to address unfair trade practices."