Elon Musk, the executive director of the Tesla car manufacturer, has filed a lawsuit against the federal government in the Federal Court of International Trade, in which he demands not only to end the new import tariffs on goods manufactured in China, but also to return to his company the money it has already overpaid, plus accumulated interest.
Elon Musk, the executive director of the Tesla car manufacturer, has filed a lawsuit against the federal government in the Federal Court of International Trade, in which he demands not only to end the new import tariffs on goods manufactured in China, but also to return to his company the money it has already overpaid, plus accumulated interest. Similar lawsuits were initiated by the auto-building companies Ford, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. Tesla’s lawsuit describes these tariffs, which are part of the ongoing trade war with China, as arbitrary, capricious and “abuse of discretion.” And Mercedes-Benz points out that US law “does not give the defendant the authority to wage a large-scale trade war, the duration of which and the means of waging it they can freely choose.”
Tesla is particularly worried about the cost of the components made in China that make up the brain of the Model 3 electric vehicle’s autopilot system. Last year, the company asked to cancel the 25 percent tariff on these products, but it was refused.