Tesla has warned the Trump administration that it could bear the cost of the president's attempts to impose so-called retaliatory tariffs on US trade partners.
In an unsigned letter uploaded to a regulatory docket on Tuesday, the automaker said a trade war could increase costs to manufacture its vehicles and lead other countries to slap tariffs on Tesla vehicles made in Austin or electronic equipment it makes in states such as California and Nevada.
"Past US special tariff actions have thus increased costs to Tesla for vehicles manufactured in the United States, and increased costs for those same vehicles when exported from the United States, resulting in less competitive international marketplace for US manufacturers," the company wrote.
Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, has been named a "special government employee" and is closely associated with President Donald Trump's drive to shrink and automate the federal government. The letter underscores how his political interests and his business interests could diverge.
Tesla's share price has fallen by nearly half since its December peak. Musk said earlier in the week he was having a tough time running his businesses because of his involvement with the White House DOGE office.
"Tesla supports a robust and thorough process to gather information to ensure appropriate actions are taken to address unfair trade practices and which, in the process, do not inadvertently harm US companies," said the letter, which was previously reported by the Financial Times.
The fact that the letter wasn't signed may be unusual, but isn't unprecedented for Tesla, which has previously submitted comments to the IRS without a signature at the bottom. Letters it has submitted to other agencies have included signatures.
Tesla, Musk, and the White House didn't respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
The letter was uploaded to a public comment portal for the US Trade Representative on Tuesday by an in-house lawyer at Tesla. It's embedded below.
The letter was sent on the same day Trump invited Musk and a lineup of Teslas to the South Lawn of the White House for a publicity event. Trump said he'd be buying a Tesla to show his support for Musk and his company after acts of dealership vandalism.
The on-and-off threats of tariffs on Canada and Mexico could deal huge blows to America's largest automakers.
Barclays analysts wrote in a March 5 note that a 25% levy on goods from Canada and Mexico could wipe out profits for Ford, GM, and Stellantis, assuming no price increase or adjustment in production plans.
"If you look at the tariffs, let's be real honest, long term, a 25% tariff across the Mexico and Canadian border would blow a hole in the US industry that we have never seen," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in February.
Tesla also would feel the effects, considering 20% to 25% of the components for its 2025 model year vehicles come from Mexico, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filing.
"There's a lot of uncertainty around tariffs," Tesla's chief financial officer, Vaibhav Taneja, said in an earnings call on January 29. "Over the years, we've tried to localize our supply chain in every market, but we are still reliant on parts from across the world for all our businesses. Therefore, the imposition of tariffs, which is very likely, and any will have an impact on our business and profitability."
