Tesla complains about being target of retaliatory tariffs, and it was right: it’s starting

Tesla’s policy team sent a letter to the US government to complain about potentially being the target of retaliatory tariffs amid Trump’s trade war.

The automaker was right, as Canada is already targeting Tesla directly with a few policy changes.

On Tuesday, March 11, Tesla’s policy team sent a letter Jamieson Greer, President Trump’s top US trade representative, to warn them the current trade war, started by Trump, could make Tesla’s target of retaliatory tariffs (via Reuters):

“As a U.S. manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices.” 

The automaker didn’t elaborate on why it thought that, but it’s likely because its CEO, Elon Musk, is one of the Trump’s top advisers, and he contributed more than $250 million to the President’s campaign.

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Many people see Musk as a sort of “shadow president,” and therefore, some of the backlash of the administration’s policies falls on him and, in turn, on Tesla.

It also doesn’t help to dissociate Musk and Trump from Tesla when Musk organizes for the President to do a Tesla infomercial at the White House.

Musk has been Trump’s biggest supporter. He has praised virtually all of Trump’s policies and even said that he loves Trump “as much as a straight man can love another man.” That’s an actual quote.

However, there’s one of Trump’s policies that Musk has stayed completely silent on: the sense less trade war that he started with US allies, including Canada and Mexico.

Canada, Mexico, and the US have a free trade agreement that Trump himself signed in 2020.

For some reason, he appears to have completely forgotten about it and keeps claiming that Canada and Mexico are “screwing over the US” with this deal. He even asked several times “who negotiated this deal?”

Musk is most likely quiet about it because he knows it bads for the US and its allies, as well as himself and Tesla.

Tesla gets roughly 25% of its parts for vehicles built in the US from Mexico, in addition to an undisclosed amount of Canadian parts. Furthermore, Tesla builds a significant amount of its manufacturing machinery in Canada.

The automaker’s policy team was right to worry about reliatory measures over the trade way.

Just today, B.C. Hydro, which offers rebates for installing EV charging stations, announced that it is excluding Tesla products from the program in response to U.S. tariffs.

BC Energy minister Adrian Dix commented on the move (via CBC):

“I thought they [Tesla products] shouldn’t be made available on a public subsidy program right now. I don’t think anyone in British Columbia needs to be told why, and I think most people would support their removal from that list,”

The province is also considering removing Tesla from the $4,000 rebate program at the purchase of electric vehicles.

That’s just the beginning. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who could be part of the new Canadian government if a coalition is formed after the upcoming elections, vowed to implement a 100% tariffs on Tesla vehicles coming from the US.

He is the second leading Canadian politician to propose this measure this month.

Electrek’s Take

I really wouldn’t want to work for Tesla’s policy team these days. They are walking a difficult line. The president’s policies are hurting the company, but the company’s CEO is his best buddy.

So they have to write things like “Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices” instead of “You are killing us over here with these schizophrenic trade policies!”

Generally, I would have issues with policies singling out a specific company, but we are talking about the US breaking a free trade agreement over false pretends and opposing ridiculous tariffs with the hope of crippling the country’s economy and force them to be annexed by the US, which Trump hasn’t been shy about as of late.

It’s unacceptable, especially for an ally, and therefore, everything is on the table, including trying to hurt Trump’s top financial backer.