Elon Musk Disagrees With U.S. Tariffs On Chinese EVs

With the Biden administration recently confirming the quadrupling of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), Tesla CEO Elon Musk has publicly voiced his opposition and disapproval to the new tariffs at the VivaTech conference in Paris. 

Notably, Tesla is one of the leaders in the Chinese EV market. With Musk expressing that neither he nor Tesla had asked for these tariffs by the Biden administration, he arrives surprised by the implementation of these tariffs on Chinese EVs in the first place at the conference.

Musk further expressed his opposition regarding the tariffs to CNBC’s Karen Tso during the question and answer session at the VivaTech conference stating, “Neither Tesla nor I asked for these tariffs,” Musk said on Thursday. “I’m in favor of no tariffs.”

Through these new tariffs by the Biden administration, the U.S. and China relations have reached new tensions. Yet, Musk has been active in the Chinese EV market as his recent visit to China received tentative approval for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) program. Nevertheless, Tesla’s ventures in the Chinese market for its EV offerings are certainly gaining traction as the company also expanded its presence there with a second battery factory in Shanghai. 

In regards to the Biden administration’s quadrupling of tariffs, the jump from 25% to 100% in tariffs on Chinese EVs will come into effect on August 1. With Musk’s statements now opposing these tariffs, he has also stated previously that Chinese EVs would dominate the global EV market without trade restrictions. As the EV industry navigates through turbulent times, the upcoming months will see the results of the impact when the new tariffs come into effect. 

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