U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on auto imports will hurt carmakers around the world and push up prices for U.S. consumers. Among the many losers, one winner stands out: billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla.
The electric vehicle maker has large factories in California and Texas that churn out all the cars it sells in the U.S., insulating it to a greater degree from Trump’s new levies on auto imports and key components. Major rivals from South Korea’s Hyundai Motor to Germany’s Volkswagen and America’s own General Motors, meanwhile, will soon face sharply higher costs.
“There are very few winners,” Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting for AutoForecast Solutions, said in a telephone interview. “Consumers will be losers because they will have reduced choice and higher prices.”