Paris, France – tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said Thursday that he does not support President Biden’s recent announcement of tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
“Neither Tesla nor I asked for these tariffs,” Musk said Wednesday during a Q&A at the Vivatech conference in Paris. Actually, I was surprised when it was announced.
The Biden administration announced last week that it would impose a 100% tariff on Chinese-made EV imports to the United States to stop cheap Chinese-made EVs from flooding the U.S. market. The White House says Beijing’s subsidies encourage companies to overproduce cheap clean energy products, such as solar panels and EVs, beyond domestic demand.
Tesla has struggled this year due to an aging fleet of electric vehicles, weak consumer demand for its vehicles and increased global competition, especially from China. Its first-quarter sales fell the most since 2012 and its stock price is on track to fall nearly 30% by 2024.
“Tesla competes very well in the Chinese market without tariffs or preferential treatment,” Musk said on Thursday. “I’m in favor of no tariffs.”
This is a change of pace for Musk, who suggested earlier this year that Chinese EV companies would crush competitors in other regions without trade restrictions.
“Frankly, if trade barriers are not established, most businesses in the world will be destroyed,” Musk said on an earnings call in January.
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