If Tesla's Got Troubles, Everyone Should Worry
Elon Musk has navigated this company through a trade war and a pandemic. The supply chain crunch, however, is bringing it all to a head.
A peak beneath the hood.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergTesla Inc. so far has managed to deftly navigate the supply chain crisis and U.S.–China trade tensions that have hamstrung manufacturers globally. The EV maker’s latest worries show it’s about to get tougher for companies that hoped the worst was behind them.
Joining a host of other auto suppliers looking for tariff exclusions on various parts, Elon Musk’s company submitted three comments to the U.S. Trade Representative supporting waivers on essential raw materials it needs to import from China. In them, Tesla says “natural graphite is currently not available in the specifications nor capacity outside of its current suppliers and China that is required” for it to manufacture EV batteries in the U.S. Tesla is requesting waivers on various forms of artificial and natural graphite.