Tesla, the electric vehicle pioneer led by Elon Musk, has raised a red flag over President Donald J. Trump’s burgeoning trade war, warning that it could become a prime target for retaliatory tariffs from other nations.

In a letter dated March 11 to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the company called for a careful weighing of the fallout from Trump’s tariff policies, which have already begun to roil global markets.

“As a U.S. manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices,” the letter stated. The message reflects growing concern within Tesla, which assembles its vehicles in the United States but relies on a sprawling international supply chain and export markets to sustain its dominance in the electric vehicle sector.

Retaliatory duties, Tesla implied, could drive up costs, squeeze margins, and disrupt its global sales—an unwelcome prospect for a company that delivered over 1.8 million vehicles worldwide last year.

Trump’s trade offensive, a revival of his first-term playbook, has seen him slap tariffs on major trading partners like China, Canada, and Mexico, citing issues from drug trafficking to economic imbalances.

The administration’s latest moves, including a 25 percent levy on imports from North American neighbors, have sparked swift counter-threats—raising the specter of a tariff tit-for-tat that could ensnare American firms like Tesla. With production sites in California and Texas but key components sourced globally, the company stands exposed if trading partners strike back.

The warning comes at a delicate moment for Tesla, a linchpin of Musk’s empire and a symbol of U.S. innovation.

While Trump has cast his tariffs as a boon for domestic industry, Tesla’s plea suggests a more complex reality: a trade war meant to shield American manufacturers could instead hobble one of its biggest success stories.

Neither Tesla nor the USTR offered further comment Thursday, leaving the letter as a lone flare amid an escalating economic showdown.

For now, Tesla’s fate hinges on how far Trump pushes—and how fiercely the world pushes back. The stakes, as the company sees it, are nothing less than its ability to compete on a global stage it has long sought to command.