Hello from California, this is Yifan, your #techAsia host this week. Yesterday was “Liberation Day” in the US, the day President Donald Trump announced a barrage of reciprocal tariffs on China, Japan, the EU and other trade partners, allies and foes alike. Meanwhile, his 25 per cent additional levies on auto imports will partially kick in on Thursday.
Trump said the tariffs will rebalance US trade relations and reduce the deficit, but his “First Buddy” Elon Musk might be the first in line to get hurt by rising trade barriers.
Musk’s Tesla has become a political symbol as the tech billionaire spearheads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a Trump White House task force involved in firing tens of thousands of federal workers in a push to drastically shrink the government and improve its spending efficiency. Protests against Tesla have been held across the globe and Tesla’s stock has been in free fall this year.