TECH NEWS – Tesla tycoon Elon Musk is among US President Donald Trump’s advisers, which could cause a bit of tension in the White House…

In a letter revealed by the Financial Times, Elon Musk’s Tesla has warned the Trump administration that it could face retaliatory tariffs.Tariffs have been a driver of the stock market recently, and Tesla believes its status as a US manufacturer could expose it to tariffs against America and increase the cost of producing vehicles in the country.

The letter comes after Musk outlined his goal to significantly increase Tesla’s U.S. manufacturing amid a massive drop in the stock price that has wiped out more than a third of the company’s value. Tesla shares fell 3% in yesterday’s trading, despite closing two days in the black the day before… and before that, the shares had lost 14% in Monday’s sell-off.

The letter was written on Tuesday, the day after the 14% drop. That one day also wiped out all of Trump’s gains since his election in November. According to the Financial Times, the letter has no signatories, which is likely due to the close relationship between Musk and Trump. A source who provided the letter said the reason the letter is unsigned is because no one wants to lose their job for sending it. Reuters reached out to Tesla in vain, but the company declined to comment.

On Thursday, Trump used the tariff weapon again, warning of steep tariffs on European alcoholic beverages to stop the EU from targeting U.S. whiskey. In the letter, Tesla also notes that while it has made significant efforts to localize its supply chain in the U.S., some components still need to be imported and could be the target of retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., which could increase production costs and ultimately the price of the vehicles, as the company will not swallow the difference.

Trump is so fond of Tesla that he would buy one himself, and he says he will target the vandals who damage the cars as domestic terrorists…

Source: WCCFTech