Elon Musk freezes Tesla orders to China as Trump's trade war continues
11 April 2025, 14:15
Tesla has suspended electric car orders to China as Trump imposes 145 per cent tariff on the world's second largest economy.
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Elon Musk's company, Tesla, has suspended new orders from China on their electric cars.
The company stopped accepting purchased on their Chinese website for its Model S and Model X vehicles.
New orders for the two models cannot be placed on Tesla's WeChat mini programme account, reported Reuters.
The two versions made up less than five per cent of sales in 2024.
The vast majority of Tesla sales were made up by its Model 3 and Model Y cars.
Read More: China raises tariffs on US goods to 125% as Trump's trade war heats up
Read More: 'It will all work out very well': Trump 'happy' after shock tariff U-turn as stock markets soar
Elon Musk has reportedly tried to keep close ties with Beijing as China produce lithium batteries and green energy products for vehicles.
Tesla's sales in China rose to 8.8 per cent, to a 657,000 high in 2024.
In recent months the tech billionaire's company was overtaken by Chinese rivals, BYD, operating out of Shenzhen.
China has raised tariffs on the United States to 125% in response to Donald Trump's trade war between Washington and Beijing.
Beijing initially announced an import tax of 84% on US goods, an increase of 50% from previous levies, with the new figure of 125% to face-down Trump's tariff increase on the Asian nation.
It comes after the United States confirmed it would slap 145% on Chinese goods earlier this week.
China's commerce ministry accused Washington of violating international economic and trade rules on Friday, adding the US was also devoid of "common sense".
It added the US should take responsibility for "serious shocks and violent turbulence" facing global financial markets.
"This is only a small symbolic step and has not changed the nature of the United States seeking private interests through trade blackmail," China's Commerce Ministry said on Friday.
"China urges the United States to take a big step in cancelling the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" and thoroughly correct its wrong practices."
If the US insists on continuing its trade war, Beijing will take countermeasures and "fight to the end", the ministry said.
"The US's imposition of abnormally high tariffs on China seriously violates international trade rules, basic economic laws and common sense, and is completely a unilateral bullying and coercion," the ministry added.
Speaking on the subject prior to the increase, Trump remained defiant, telling critics "I know what the hell I’m doing” in response to market turmoil.
This comes as Elon Musk has told an audience he hopes to see a time when there are no tariffs between the United States and Europe.
His comments come after US President Donald Trump caused turmoil after announcing 20% tariffs on goods from the European Union, and other sweeping ones across the rest of the world in his bid to 'Make America Wealthy Again'.
However, only days on the Tesla owner said: “At the end of the day, I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free-trade zone between Europe and North America."
Musk was speaking via video-link interview with Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and the leader of the far-right League party, for a League congress in Florence.
