It seems like the only thing more unpredictable than Tesla’s stock this month is what direction the U.S. will go with automotive tariffs. One minute, the industry is getting a pass, the next, tariffs are back on the menu. It’s an exhausting loop, honestly, and if we’re tired of it, the likes of Jim Farley and Mary Barra must be ready to throw hands.
Welcome back to Critical Materials, your daily roundup for all things electric and tech in the automotive space. Today, it’s more tariff talk, plus the FBI and ATF have formed a joint task force to fight vandalism against Teslas. Also, Tesla has halted its FSD rollout in China. Let’s jump in.
30%: Auto Tariffs Still Coming, Pledges Trump
Photo by: InsideEVs
Remember yesterday when the automotive industry was expected to get a break from the broader tariffs that go into effect on April 2nd? It’s technically true—however, cars won’t be exempt from the heavy hand of duty fees altogether.
U.S. President Donald Trump revealed late Monday that tariffs that affect the auto industry haven’t been removed from his trade war toolkit. Instead, they will take effect separately from the April 2 tariffs and are being realigned to give special treatment (like possible exemptions of breaks) for certain unnamed trading partners importing vehicles into the States.
Here’s what Bloomberg knows:
President Donald Trump said he will announce tariffs on automobile imports in the coming days—and indicated nations will receive breaks from next week’s “reciprocal” tariffs.
Trump’s comments at the White House Monday sowed further confusion about his plans for a sweeping tariff announcement scheduled for April 2. The president told reporters he planned to proceed with long-threatened auto import tariffs “fairly soon, over the next few days” ahead of the broader package.
Trump said his tariff rollout next Wednesday would focus on so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, featuring rates on a country-by-country basis. The president twice on Monday signaled trading partners would receive possible exemptions or reductions.
Trump’s timeline for imposing tariffs on the auto industry is rather inconclusive, but based on the president’s wording, it would seem that the administration is prepared to announce it ahead of next week’s tariff extravaganza, which Trump declared to be named Liberation Day.
“We are going to be doing automobiles, which you’ve known about for a long time,” said Trump during a press briefing. “We’ll be announcing that fairly soon, over the next few days probably. And then April 2 comes. That will be reciprocal tariffs.”
This once again has automakers scratching their heads about what’s to come. Toyota, for example, is stuck wondering whether or not it’s about to get whacked simply for existing and sourcing components outside of the U.S. borders—despite having five vehicle assembly plants in the U.S. and donating $1 million to Trump’s re-election campaign last year.
And let’s not forget parts. Cars have to be built from something, and there’s a complex web of supply chain partners throughout the world making that happen. Even if the auto industry isn’t taxed directly for its imports, the constant crossing of borders to source vehicle components could easily drive up the costs of a car built in the U.S.
Whether you’re a supplier, factory manager or just someone hoping your next car won’t cost an extra $12,000, the constant tariff talk is creating more questions than answers. And for an industry built on decades of free trade, tight margins and just-in-time manufacturing, the only thing more disruptive than a tough rule is one that keeps changing.
60%: FBI Warns Tesla Owners, Dealerships Of Violence And Vandalism
Photo by: YouTube
Tesla is going through some stuff right now, and we’re not talking about the tanking stock, slipping sales, or even the criticism of its FSD software not being able to detect a Looney Tunes-style fake wall. Yep, we’re at the point of cultural discourse where folks are smashing windows and setting EVs on fire over the political meddlings of Tesla’s so-called “absent CEO.” And now, authorities are on such a high alert that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has put out a memo to warn the public.
In a security bulletin titled Individuals Target Tesla Vehicles and Dealerships Nationwide with Arson, Gunfire, and Vandalism, the FBI—which recently formed a joint task force with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the incidents—warns of attacks targeting Tesla vehicles, as well as Tesla-owned property (like dealerships and Supercharging stations).
Here’s more info from the bulletin directly:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is informing the public of recent nationwide incidents targeting Tesla electric vehicles (EV), dealerships, storage lots, and charging stations. Since January 2025, incidents targeting Tesla EVs have occurred in at least nine states. These incidents have involved arson, gunfire, and vandalism, including graffiti expressing grievances against those the perpetrators perceive to be racists, fascists, or political opponents. These criminal actions appear to have been conducted by lone offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night.
Individuals require little planning to use rudimentary tactics, such as improvised incendiary devices and firearms, and may perceive these attacks as victimless property crimes.
The FBI urges the public to exercise vigilance and to look out for suspicious activity in areas occupied by Tesla dealerships or Tesla-related entities.
You might say Tesla has had an unintentional cultural rebrand over the past year. CEO Elon Musk’s public takes political actions have stained the brand, resulting in a politically divided customer base doing what it does best: rejecting a brand that doesn’t align with political views.
Protestors have called on owners to sell their cars and stock to stick it to Tesla over Musk’s continued involvement with global politics. Owners seem to have listened because industry data from Edmunds shows that Tesla trade-ins have spiked in recent weeks. Not only are more being traded in, but fewer buyers are searching for used Teslas to buy, sending used car values off a cliff.
For some, this isn’t enough. Activists have taken it upon themselves to use Musk’s political affiliation as an excuse to commit damaging acts like setting Tesla showrooms on fire or damaging customer-owned Tesla vehicles.
The whole situation underscores just how fraught the EV (or maybe just the Tesla) situation has become. It’s no longer a conversation about software updates and charging networks; somehow EVs have become deeply personal and political. And Tesla? Well, it’s the unfortunate lightning rod that’s attracting all of the attention.
90%: Tesla Halts FSD Rollout In China
Photo by: InsideEVs
Tesla’s ambitious rollout of its Full Self-Driving software in China has hit a speed bump. Not literally (despite what you might think), but because Tesla has seemingly put a voluntary pause on the wide deployment of its flagship driver assistance software in China on Monday.
The exact reason for the pause is unknown. While it might be easy to suggest the software simply isn’t ready, it’s possible that new regulations governing over-the-air software updates by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) are to blame.
Here’s the latest from Automotive News:
Tesla said on March 24 it would release its smart driving-assistance feature in China after completing regulatory approval, following complaints that a limited-time free trial of its Full Self-Driving service had been temporarily paused.
“All parties are actively advancing the relevant process and we will push it to you as soon as it is ready. We are also looking forward to it, please wait patiently,” Tesla’s customer support said on social media platform Weibo.
The message was posted as a comment under a feed of Tesla vice president Grace Tao’s Weibo account.
Tesla says that it will resume deploying FSD to customers following the approval of Chinese regulators.
Tesla’s FSD rollout in China hasn’t exactly been smooth. Some users testing out the software found that the car didn’t exactly follow local laws. One Chinese car blogger managed to rack up seven separate traffic violations in one night by performing illegal lane changes, making right-turns from bike lanes, and other citable infractions.
This is partly because of strict Chinese data laws that make training Tesla’s FSD model incredibly difficult for the local market. CEO Elon Musk explained earlier this year:
“[W]e do have some challenges because [the government doesn’t] currently allow us to transfer training video outside of China. And then the U.S. government won’t let us do training in China. It’s like a quandary,” said Musk during the company’s last quarterly earnings call. “So, we were solving [this] by literally looking at videos of streets in China that are available on the Internet to understand and then feeding that into our training so that publicly available video of street signs and traffic rules in China can be used for training and then also putting it in a very accurate simulator.”
Chinese social media sites showed similar issues, including their cars blowing through traffic lights and other incidents that were covered on car blogs around the world.
Car News China comes through with more details regarding MIIT’s possible involvement:
As for the suspension reasons, there are speculations that it may be related to the new regulations of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) based on clues from Xpeng’s official communication regarding the delay of the March OTA updates for its Mona M03. Xpeng stated that the delay is due to the Chinese MIIT’s new regulations on February 28, requiring that new key software changes must be announced in advance and that software filing can only be carried out after the announcement is issued.
It has also been theorized that the approval of Tesla’s FSD software could be used as a bargaining chip by the Chinese government as a negotiation tactic in the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.
Now, Tesla hasn’t explicitly said that the problems showcased online have contributed to ceasing the rollout of the Chinese FSD trial. The Chinese government also has not released any public statement condemning the software, which means that there is no indication of why Tesla decided to press the pause button on the rollout. But with the wording from Tao’s Weibo message, it seems that Tesla may feel that the software is not yet “ready” for one of its most important markets.
100%: What’s Going To Happen To All Of Those Traded-In Teslas?
I was doom-scrolling on Tiktok last night and someone posted a rather interesting open-ended question about the tons of Teslas that are being traded in right now. Supply is higher than the demand right now, which is sending used values plummeting—and that’d be great for buyers if folks actually wanted to buy them.
There doesn’t seem to be an end to this road just yet. As long as Musk continues his political involvement while holding Tesla’s reins, it’s unlikely the bleeding will stop. So what’s the end game for dealers with these things sitting on their lots? Will they sell at a loss? Send the cars to auction? Or, if they can’t tempt consumers with low prices, maybe they’ll just play the long game and wait it out?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
