Hi from California, this is Yifan, your #techAsia host today. The other day was “Freedom Day” in the United States, the day President Donald Trump revealed a barrage of mutual tariffs on China, Japan, the EU and other trade partners, allies and opponents alike. On the other hand, his 25 percent extra levies on car imports will partly begin on Thursday.
Trump stated the tariffs will rebalance United States trade relations and decrease the deficit, however his “First Pal” Elon Musk may be the very first in line to get injured by increasing trade barriers.
Musk’s Tesla has actually ended up being a political sign as the tech billionaire leads the so-called Department of Federal government Performance (Doge), a Trump White Home job force associated with shooting 10s of countless federal employees in a push to considerably diminish the federal government and enhance its costs performance. Demonstrations versus Tesla have actually been held around the world and Tesla’s stock has actually remained in complimentary fall this year.
In the San Francisco Bay Location– the previous home of Tesla head office and the top place in the United States to accept EVs– I have actually seen a number of Teslas driving down Highway 101 with their T-shaped logo design eliminated.
Trump’s brand-new tariffs are anticipated to include additional headwinds for the business, especially in its home market. While the California gigafactory may be where the majority of its United States cars are completed and delivered, its car parts supply chain will still go through the extra levies. Tesla shares dropped more than 8 percent throughout extended trading Wednesday following the tariff statement.
On The Other Hand, Trump has actually put remarkably high mutual tariffs on south-east Asian nations, consisting of Cambodia and Vietnam, which were slapped with rates of 49 percent and 46 percent, respectively, more than the 34 percent China deals with.
Vietnam has actually become a winner of the tech supply chain diversity in the last few years as business move far from their Chinese factories to the south-east Asian nation, in action to the growing trade barriers the United States put towards China.
Other popular alternative supply chain locations such as India and Indonesia have actually likewise been slapped with high tariffs. Will south-east Asia stay a popular option amongst tech business to develop out their supply chains, or will integrating in the United States be the only alternative moving forward? In either case, American customers remain in for a rough trip in the months to come.
Tesla’s turbulence and BYD’s boom
2025 has actually begun rather in a different way for BYD and Tesla. The 2 carmakers have actually remained in a neck-and-neck race for the international EV crown given that 2023. While both are dealing with headwinds, consisting of heightening competitors, deteriorating economies, slowing need and tariffs, Elon Musk is tossing a wrench in the works for Tesla.
China’s BYD has actually outsold Tesla in electrical cars for a 2nd straight quarter as the United States car manufacturer deals with a reaction over CEO Elon Musk’s political activities, Nikkei Asia’s Yifan Yu reports.
For the January-March duration, Tesla provided 336,681 cars worldwide, down around 13 percent compared to the exact same duration in 2015. BYD, on the other hand, provided 416,388 battery electrical cars (BEVs) in the very first 3 months of 2025, up 38.74 percent year-on-year.
Tesla is set to report its first-quarter profits later on this month, and financiers will aspire to hear how Musk plans to reverse the brand name’s image as the CEO of the EV leader significantly stands in contradiction to the worths of much of its consumers.
The roadway to success
Chinese self-governing driving business WeRide has stated it wants to end up being successful within 5 years however cautioned that unpredictability over global federal government guideline and industrial collaborations make the timing “tough to forecast”, compose the Financial Times’ William Langley and Gloria Li
Tony Han, creator and president of the Nasdaq-listed business, stated self-governing driving needed big financial investment and creating returns would be a “long procedure”. The Nvidia-backed business has actually reported greater losses in each of the previous 3 years.
” What I desire in the next 5 years is that first off. this business can end up being successful,” Han informed the Financial Times. “I believe from an innovation viewpoint it will absolutely support this within 5 years, however there are more industrial and policy factors to consider.”
Robotaxi companies run by the sector’s leading business– consisting of Chinese web search group Baidu and regional competing Pony.ai, along with Google’s Waymo in the United States– had yet to report revenues, stated experts.
Lu Daokuan, an expert at S&P Global Movement, stated high expenses for software application, upkeep and research study were most likely to avoid Chinese robotaxi groups attaining success till a minimum of 2028.
” Major commercialisation is just possible. when robotaxis can carry out along with human motorists on the roadway,” stated Lu.
Huge to larger?
United States agreement chipmaker GlobalFoundries and United Microelectronics Corp, Taiwan’s No 2 chipmaker, are checking out the possibility of a merger in the middle of American efforts to reduce dangers surrounding the Taiwan Strait and ward off growing competitors from China in fully grown chips, Nikkei Asia’s Cheng Ting-Fang composes.
The tie-up would produce a larger, US-based business with a production footprint throughout Asia, the United States and Europe. The goal of the merger would be to produce a business with the financial scale to make sure America has access to fully grown chips as stress simmer in between China and Taiwan and as China produces more chips by itself.
Despite the result, the GlobalFoundries-UMC talks highlight America’s desire to decrease its reliance on Taiwan, which is home to the world’s second-largest chip economy by income. Possibly this is likewise why Intel’s brand-new CEO stated today that the American chip giant is still dedicated to its foundry company, in spite of current obstacles, as it has an “vital function” in protecting the United States chip supply chain.
Humanoids with Chinese qualities
Did you see the viral video in which a group of humanoid robotics dance together with human entertainers on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV’s Lunar New Year Gala in January? The robotics may have looked a bit amusing, awkwardly waving scarfs up and down, however they have actually ended up being a valued top priority for Beijing, Nikkei Asia’s Cissy Zhou and Ryohtaroh Satoh compose.
Comparable to EVs and mobile phones, China’s federal government policies have actually prioritised humanoid robotics as “disruptive items”, with the marketplace anticipated to reach $43bn by 2035.
After Elon Musk presented an Optimus model in 2022, China’s Ministry of Market and Infotech provided commercial advancement assistance the list below year, stating the nation would aim to mass-produce humanoid robotics by 2025 and look for to develop an internationally competitive commercial community.
In between the world’s leading 2 economies, the United States has the edge in AI chips, software application and algorithms, while China has the benefit in AI algorithm advancement along with a strong supply chain that can use quality elements at low expenses.
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#techAsia is co-ordinated by Nikkei Asia’s Katherine Creel in Tokyo, with support from the feet tech desk in London.
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