Trump’s Auto Tariff Relief “Helps Tesla a Lot” — Leaving Other Carmakers Behind
Donald Trump s latest adjustment to automobile tariffs were billed as relief for the Big Three carmakers but a leading analyst reported Wednesday that Elon Musk s Tesla will benefit most of while others will be stuck in quicksand potentially creating a slight advantage for a company whose CEO donated nearly million to Trump and other Republican causes during last year s ballot Trump s first round of massive tariffs fueled widespread attention to the fact that of the major carmakers Tesla seemed to be the best protected from the direct impact of tariffs Helps Tesla a lot Detroit Big still in quicksand Trump issued a new executive order Tuesday scaling back several auto tariffs a move sought for weeks by domestic automakers who had been whacked with massive duties on imported car parts While Trump s latest tariff seesaw could provide temporary relief to particular of the Big Three however analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities mentioned Tesla still has an edge Helps Tesla a lot Detroit Big still in quicksand Wedbush announced in an email Wedbush was responding to the complicated impact of two executive orders Trump issued Tuesday one meant to eliminate cumulative tariffs on imported cars and parts and another providing temporary relief on imported auto parts for cars primarily made in the U S Wedbush stated that overall the latest changes should help Tesla more than the other carmakers who have greeted the latest Trump announcement with cautious praise While not utterly unscathed Tesla is in the best position to weather this storm vs the Big and other foreign automakers as it localized to of its supply chain in the US and will be exempt from numerous of these tariffs Wedbush mentioned Neither the White House nor Tesla forthwith responded to requests for comment Related Police Across the Country Are on High Alert Over Tesla Protests Tesla models dominate the top of the chart for the percentage of domestic content in their vehicles with other ostensibly American auto manufacturers falling far behind According to the Made in America Auto Index produced by American University s Kogod School of Business Tesla occupied the top five spots by percentage of their car parts manufactured in the U S or Canada Their Model Performance Model took the no spot followed by the Model Y at no and the new Cybertruck at no Tesla s Models S and X tied for the no spot reported a webpage on the index The Ford Mustang is tied for the fourth slot with two Tesla models The new Trump orders offer relief from earlier tariffs by effectively removing penalties for cars that are made up of percent or more domestic content According to the Kogod chart only two cars have percent or greater U S and Canadian content the Tesla Model and Tesla Model Y The Tesla Cybertruck is not far behind at percent Despite having a relative edge over other automakers analysts have still warned that Trump s initial round of massive tariffs posed a threat for Musk because they could lead to lower economic enhancement overall Musk has been one of the loudest voices calling on Trump to scale back his tariffs on cars and other items In a Tesla earnings call last week he stated that he would continue to advocate for lower tariffs Trump s tariff tweaks were not enough to dissuade Wedbush from sounding a pessimistic note about the future of the auto industry He noted the sticker price of an average car could go up to This continues to be a Twilight Zone situation for the entire automaker industry which continues to be paralyzed further cost increases and uncertainties that will change the paradigm for the US auto industry for years to come in this stays into effect Wedbush revealed We believe the auto tariffs in their current form adds up to billion of costs annually to the auto industry and will essentially get passed directly onto the consumer and clearly erode demand on Day of tariffs Musk has long been a beneficiary of cabinet largess a position he has looked to solidify with Trump s ascendancy Related If Protesting Tesla Is Domestic Terrorism Then What Demonstration Against Musk Isn t When an incipient protest movement caused Tesla to take a major financial hit following Musk s heavy involvement in Trump s far-right regime the two men staged what amounted to an unprecedented live ad on the White House lawn for the electric cars Trump declared at the event that vandalism tied to the protest movement against Tesla was domestic terrorism The protest movement against Musk and Tesla has continued to grow The post Trump s Auto Tariff Relief Helps Tesla a Lot Leaving Other Carmakers Behind appeared first on The Intercept
