Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has said the impact of President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs on the electric-vehicle maker is “significant.”
Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing 25% duties on all cars and light trucks not made in the United States, as well as on imports of “certain auto parts.” The tariffs, which are in addition to existing levies on vehicle imports, are set to take effect on April 2.
While the trade measures will hit mostly foreign automakers, Wall Street is weighing whether the likes of Ford (F), General Motors (GM), and Stellantis (STLA) will see an impact, given they sell models in the US that are assembled at plants overseas.
Tesla, however, builds its US-market vehicles in US factories, leading to hopes it might escape fallout from the tariffs — something Musk rebuffed overnight.
“Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant,” Musk said in a reply post on X.
“To be clear, this will affect the price of parts in Tesla cars that come from other countries. The cost impact is not trivial,” the Tesla CEO said in another response on X.
The brewing trade war has had other knock-on effects for the EV maker. Canada on Wednesday froze all EV rebate payments to Tesla and barred it from future rebate programs, citing US tariffs.
Meanwhile, the UK said it could review an EV incentive program that has given subsidies to Tesla.