Tesla has reportedly halted shipments of Chinese parts for the Cybercab, or robotaxi, and the Tesla Semi, the EV giant's long-haul trucking vehicle. The decision to stop shipments of key components, which appears due to President Donald Trump's tariffs increasing to 145%, could delay mass production of the robotaxi and Tesla Semi. Tesla stock declined Wednesday.
Reuters, citing one source with direct knowledge of the situation, reported late Tuesday that Tesla suspended plans to ship parts from China for the Cybercab and Semi electric trucks after Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods.
The EV giant was set to pay the costs when Trump imposed the 34% tariff on China-made goods but could not do so when the tariffs were increased, according to Reuters. Now, the disruption could muddle the production timeline for the Cybercab.
Tesla stock fell 5% to 241.55 during Wednesday's stock market action as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled that outsized Trump tariffs may create a "challenging scenario" for policymakers, with their dual mandate to control inflation and support employment in "tension."
TSLA entered Wednesday trade down 2% on the month with first-quarter earnings due on April 22. Meanwhile, Piper Sandler analysts on Wednesday lowered their TSLA price target to 400 from 450, keeping an overweight rating on the shares. The firm wrote that Tesla's Q1 financials "will likely underwhelm" and that its gross margin is "probably trending near multiyear lows."
Chief Executive Elon Musk has long touted Tesla's long-term strategy around robotaxis, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and robotics. Musk has said Tesla will have robotaxis operating in Austin, Texas, in June.
The official Tesla account on X posted Tuesday that "one day" a Tesla vehicle will "drive itself right to your house." The post referenced that Giga Texas production uses unsupervised full self-driving, or FSD, to deliver vehicles from the end line of production to the outbound shipping lot.
Musk responded to the post.
"This year," he wrote.
Trump Tariffs Impact Tesla Stock
On Monday, Trump told reporters he is "looking at something to help some of the car companies" when it comes to the implementation of his 25% tariff on all foreign-made vehicle imports that went into effect on April 3. Trump's tariffs are set to expand to imported automotive parts in early May.
"I'm looking for something to help some of the car companies, where they're switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places, and they need a little bit of time, because they're going to make them here," Trump said, speaking from the Oval Office during a meeting Monday with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
Trump's Auto Tariffs Are Here. What Is Next For The U.S. Auto Industry?
"They need a little bit of time, so I'm talking about things like that," Trump added of the auto manufacturers.
From when Trump announced his auto tariffs on March 26 to Tuesday, TSLA had declined 12%. Tesla stock is down 4%8 from its 488.54 peak on Dec. 18. But shares have held above its March lows.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, also recently cut his Tesla stock target price by around 40% to 315 from 550. Ives wrote that Trump's tariffs and an Elon Musk "brand crisis" have created a "perfect storm" for the EV giant.
"Tesla is less exposed to tariffs than other U.S. automakers," Ives wrote, but "there will be a clear cost impact."
Since Trump announced the 25% auto tariffs, the 33 stocks in the IBD Auto Manufacturers industry group collectively dropped around 13% prior to Wednesday's stock market open. The group has declined 36% in 2025. That puts the industry at 101 out of the 197 sectors tracked by IBD.
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