Tesla, led by Elon Musk, warns of export retaliation due to new Trump tariffs

Tesla Inc., warned this week that the company could face retaliation in the export market due to President Trump’s aggressive tariff policies.

In a public letter to U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer, Tesla stated, “U.S. exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to U.S. trade actions.”

“For example, past trade actions by the United States have resulted in immediate reactions by the targeted countries, including increased tariffs on EVs imported into those countries.”

Greer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla’s comments come as its billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, has emerged as one of Trump’s most loyal supporters in an administration that’s pushing the country into a more nationalistic stance than seen in generations.

Despite Musk’s previously seemingly liberal public bent and Trump’s harsh past criticisms of electric vehicles, the two unlikely bedfellows have forged a close alliance.

The source of the unsigned letter was not immediately clear, and Tesla did not respond promptly to questions regarding whether Musk had any involvement in drafting it.

Musk heads up the new and controversial Department of Government Efficiency, which seeks to decimate the size of the federal workforce and reduce government spending.

Trump’s new trade policies have already led to retaliatory tariffs affecting billions of dollars of American products, including steel, aluminum and Kentucky bourbon.

In its letter to Greer, Tesla said that even with the strongest efforts to ensure that its products are manufactured domestically, there are still limitations to what can be fully procured within the United States, specifically lithium-ion batteries.

“Tesla supports a process by USTR to further evaluate domestic supply chain limitations to ensure that U.S. manufacturers are not unduly burdened by trade actions that could result in the imposition of cost-prohibitive tariffs on necessary components, or other import restrictions on items essential to support U.S. manufacturing jobs,” the letter said.

“Trade actions should not (and need not) conflict with objectives to further increase and support domestic manufacturing.”