Donald Trump’s ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk worried over tariffs hitting Tesla too: Report

US ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk’s Tesla has flagged concerns that President Donald Trump’s policy concerning reciprocal tariffs may hit the world’s largest automobile company by market capitalisation, Financial Times reported.

In an unsigned letter to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer cited in the FT report, Tesla said that it “supports” fair trade but warned that US exporters were “exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to US trade actions”.

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The company said that it might become the target of retailiatory tariffs imposed by other countries in response to US’ tariffs, which might eventually make production in US costlier.

“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,” the Austin, Texas-based company wrote in the letter dated March 11.

Tesla’s letter highlights how even one of Trump’s closest allies Musk is concerned about the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs.

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“[The letter] is a polite way to say that the bipolar tariff regime is screwing over Tesla…It is unsigned because nobody at the company wants to be fired for sending it,” one person familiar with the process of sending the letter said.

Tesla noted in the letter than a potential rise in production costs in the US would make the vehicles less competitive when exported overseas.

It also urged the administration to avoid making minerals that are in short supply in the US — such as lithium and cobalt — even more expensive to import.

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“Even with aggressive localisation of the supply chain, certain parts and components are difficult or impossible to source within the US,” Tesla said in its letter.

The letter was filed to the trade representative’s office as part of the agency’s broad request for comment from US businesses as it reviews foreign trade practices and tries to identify any tariffs, taxes, regulations or subsidies that could be harming companies.