Tesla also sues EU over electric vehicle duties

By Koen Verhelst | 01/27/2025 06:43 AM EST

The company joins three Chinese carmakers in suing the bloc over duties on made-in-China electric vehicles.

BRUSSELS — Elon Musk’s Tesla will face off with the European Commission in court in Luxembourg after joining three Chinese carmakers in suing the bloc over duties on made-in-China electric vehicles, two industry sources told POLITICO on Friday.

Tesla, despite being headquartered in the U.S., makes most of its vehicles destined for Europe in China. The cars also have Chinese batteries inside.

The complaint at the EU’s court in Luxembourg is perhaps surprising, as Tesla underwent individual scrutiny by Commission investigators, including site inspections, and ended up getting the lowest duty rate for all exporters of 8 percent. By contrast, Volkswagen’s Chinese joint venture partner SAIC was hit with 35 percent.

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The Commission reckons it is on solid ground, however, having compiled evidence in its yearlong anti-subsidy investigation that Beijing underwrote the Chinese EV industry’s rise to global dominance. That compares with arbitrary decisions taken by the U.S. and Canada to slap 100 percent duties on Made-in-China EVs.

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