Trump’s steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports—jumping from 34% to as high as 125%—have forced Tesla to pause shipments of crucial parts needed for its Cybercab and Semi truck production in the U.S. Originally aiming to start trial production by October and scale up by 2026, Tesla’s timelines now face uncertainty. The total tariff impact has climbed to 145%, making it too costly for Tesla to proceed as initially planned.
Tesla had hoped to absorb the costs but couldn’t keep up with the rising duties. Trump’s push to further increase tariffs on foreign-made auto parts could make production and pricing even tougher for U.S. carmakers. Tesla’s robotaxi and Semi plans are still active, but the trade war is clearly causing friction—even for Elon Musk, who supports free trade and has voiced criticism of the tariff moves. Meanwhile, Tesla has also stopped taking new orders for its Model S and X vehicles after China hit back with its own retaliatory tariffs.
