Tesla Sends Unsigned Letter Warning Of Potential Tariff Harm Because Musk Can Fire Them Too

With President Donald Trump turning the White House lawn into a Tesla showroom on Tuesday this week, it's clear that he knows his clingy financier's automaker is struggling to maintain its astronomical stock price. Tesla sent a letter to the United States Trade Representative on the same day that warned the federal government to consider "the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices." While not directly mentioning tariffs, the letter clearly references the impending trade taxes expected to wreak havoc on the automotive industry.

Tesla's letter was left unsigned by the automaker's CFO Vaibhav Taneja, or any other employee. The anonymous author raises the question of whether Elon Musk even knew that his company took a stance opposed to the Trump administration's trade plans. With Musk taking a metaphorical chainsaw to the federal government, he presumably won't hesitate to fire the employees he actually has authority over. The letter reads:

"While Tesla recognizes and supports the importance of fair trade, the assessment undertaken by USTR of potential actions to rectify unfair trade should also take into account exports from the United States. U.S. exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to U.S. trade actions. 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."

Projections in late February had Trump's 25% tariffs increasing new car prices by up to $10,000 if production changes have to be made or assembly lines shut down. With the first wave of tariffs now a week away, an S&P Global Mobility study estimates that production will plummet by 20,000 vehicles per day. It's an economic doomsday provoked on a whim by the guy in the Oval Office who still claims that he wrote "The Art of the Deal."

Trump and Musk are desperately trying to reverse Tesla's fortunes by flipping through every page in the authoritarian's playbook. The President has labeled people protesting against Tesla as domestic terrorists. He even stated that it's illegal to boycott the electric automaker, as if the government could legally compel citizens to buy a specific car. It seems clear that the rest of the world despises Tesla's close ties to the MAGA regime: Tesla's European sales in January dropped 50% compared to the same month last year. However, a global trade war will likely do more damage to Tesla than any form of protest or vandalism.