Late last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Robotaxi and Robovan. The two represented a focal shift in the brand, zeroing in on driverless, autonomous vehicles rather than the previously rumored, budget-friendly “Model 2.” But a raging trade war between the United States and China has all but stopped Tesla’s plans to move forward with the Robotaxi and the upcoming Semi. 

The Trump vs. Xi trade war has put a delay on the self-driving Tesla Robotaxi and Semi

Today, President Donald Trump raised the tariff structure for select Chinese goods to 245%, far exceeding the already staggering 145%. The move is just the latest development in an ongoing trade war between Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, who recently announced a stop to rare earth material exports to the United States and other trade partners. Now, the stratospheric tariffs are putting the brakes on the Tesla Robotaxi and Semi. 

Tesla halted plans to ship vital componentry necessary for the steering wheel-free Robotaxi. Chinese parts are also necessary for the Tesla Semi, the tri-motor battery electric commercial semi-truck. Originally, Tesla said it would stomach the rising tariffs. However, once the figure exceeded 34%, the electric automaker began suspending planned shipments.

It’s more than enough to hamper Tesla’s plans to begin production of the diminutive, self-driving taxi cab at Giga Texas in 2026. Tesla also planned to begin production of the Semi at Gigafactory Nevada next year. The electric automaker already has commercial customers, like Pepsi, expecting deliveries of their electric semi-trucks. Of course, that was before the current tariff structure halted Tesla’s best-laid plans.

As of now, it isn’t clear just how long the tariff troubles will delay production. But in the meantime, the Robotaxi and Semi aren’t moving forward. Needless to say, Tesla CEO Elon Musk isn’t pleased with the tariffs, despite his close relationship with Trump. 

The news follows a recent report that Musk silenced an internal Tesla analysis suggesting the so-called Cybercab isn’t the money-maker that the hurting automaker should focus on. According to Electrek, the “credible” new report from the electric brand’s executives revealed that the Robotaxi would “lose money.”

Instead, the report suggested that Tesla should focus on the cheaper “Model 2.” Originally, rumors suggested that Tesla would introduce a Model 2 to undercut the price of its current entry-level EV, the Model 3. However, Elon Musk indicated at the launch of the Cybercab that the cheap Tesla EV was “silly.”