Tesla seeks tariff relief for a ‘brain’

washington — Tesla has asked the Trump administration to exempt the Chinese-made car computer “brain” of its new Model 3 sedan from 25 per cent tariffs imposed in August, saying they threaten the electric carmaker’s bottom line.

“Increased tariffs on this particular part cause economic harm to Tesla, through the increase of costs and impact to profitability,” it company said in a previously unreported request for tariff relief from the government.

Led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, Tesla is among a host of companies, including No.1 US automaker General Motors, to warn of growing costs related to the tariff war between the world’s two largest economies.

Using a new supplier... ‘could lead overall vehicle quality issues’

The Chinese-made computer, used by Tesla in the car assembled in Fremont, California, was among $16 billion in imports that were hit with 25 per cent tariffs by the United States Trade Representative’s Office in 2018.

In a redacted request posted on a government website by the USTR on December 17, Tesla did not identify the supplier of the computer. But it said it had been unable to find another manufacturer “with the required specifications, at the volume requested and under the timelines necessary for Tesla’s continued growth”.

Tesla, which called the Model 3’s computer “the brain of the vehicle”, added that “choosing any other supplier would have delayed the [Model 3] programme by 18 months with clean room setup, line validation and staff training.”

Using a new supplier “substantially increases the risk of poor part quality that could lead overall vehicle quality issues that would impact the safety of our vehicles and the consumer acceptance of the final product”, Tesla added in its request for tariff relief. —