The president of the United States, Donald Trump, speaks with the media, next to the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, with his son X Æ A-12, in the White House in Washington, DC, USA, UU., March 11, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Elon Musk said Tuesday that he does not like high or unpredictable rates, but any decision about what happens with the issue “depends completely on the president of the United States.”
Speaking in the earnings call of the first quarter of his company, with an uncertainty topped with tariffs turning throughout the economy, Musk said that Tesla is in a relatively good position, compared to other American car manufacturers, in Nortyaica.
Musk said that Tesla is the “less affected car company with respect to tariffs at least in most aspects.”
Tesla reported that worrying quarterly profits and sales on Tuesday, including a 20% drop year after year in automotive income and a 71% drop in net income. The company also said that it was not providing any orientation by 2025 at least until its update of the second quarter.
While Musk is one of the closest advisors of President Donald Trump, rates are the only problem in which he is partial with the administration. Recently he called Peter Navarro, Trump’s main commercial advisor, a “fool” and “darker than a brick sack.”
However, on Tuesday’s call, Musk said: “If any country is doing something predator with tariffs” or “if a government is providing extreme financial support for a particular industry, then you must do something to counteract this.”
The price of Tesla shares has been beaten since the president floated his plan for a more widespread TARL this month, and that was after 36% shares lunch in the first quarter, his worst performance for any period since 2022.
Because Tesla manufactures cars that sells in the United States in the country, the company is not subject to Trump’s 25% rate on imported cars. But Tesla has materials and supplies from China, Mexico, Canada and other places for manufacturing equipment, Automotive glass, printed circuit plates, battery cells and other products.
Musk said he offers his advice to the president about rates.
“He will listen to my advice. But then it depends on him, of course, to make his decision,” Musk said. “I have been in the registry many times saying that I think the lowest rates are generally a good idea.”
Hey added that he is a “predictable tariff structures” defender, as well as “free trade and lower rates.”
Musk said that Tesla’s energy business faces a “huge” impact of tariffs because he obtains lithium iron phosphate battery cells, which are used in his company’s cars, from China.
“We are in the process of commissioning equipment for the local manufacture of LFP battery cells in the United States,” he said. But he said that the company “can only serve a fraction of our total installed capacity” with its local team.
“We also have legs working to obtain an additional supply chain of suppliers not based on China, but it will take time,” he said.
Musk described Tesla the “Vertically integrated car company”, but said that there are still many pieces and materials that come from other countries. Just even a lithium refinery in Texas, “we are not yet cultivating rubber and mining iron trees,” he said.
Look: Tariffs on China’s batteries can end up really expensive
