Trump and Musk

Of course the European legacy brands are finally getting themselves into EV gear, but the real threat comes from China. At the end of last year BYD overtook Tesla as the world’s best-selling EV manufacturer while Chinese companies dominate battery manufacturing. CATL alone accounts for 38 per cent of all EV batteries made.

It should not be forgotten that earlier this year the Biden administration slapped a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-built EVs which you’d imagine might have been enough for Musk. Apparently not, and the world will just have to wait and see what further measures the new Trump administration will impose. And, of course, what response this might trigger from China and any other countries around the world who fall within the firing line.

What does this mean for those companies that have bet the farm on an all-EV future? We will have to wait and see, but if there is a tit-for-tat tariff-based trade war between the US and China and possibly the rest of the world, it doesn’t bode well even for US manufacturers who cannot survive on domestic sales alone. They will have no choice but to pass price rises onto the customer, making EVs even more unaffordable at a time when they are becoming increasingly hard to sell even without such interventions.

Then again, time alone will tell how closely President Trump sticks to whatever promises he may or may not have made to Mr Musk. He is an avowed EV sceptic, and with companies like General Motors and Ford still with powerful voices in Washington it remains to be seen how long two superegos like these will continue to play nicely with each other. With the White House secured, it is possible that Trump will discover that Musk has served his purpose and might soon outstay his welcome in the Oval Office.

We will see, but in the meantime, life for those with EVs to sell has certainly not got any easier overnight unless, of course, your first name’s Elon. Whether even he will rue the day he got into bed with the first convicted felon to become President of the United States time alone will tell.

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