'Stuck in quicksand': Experts say Trump's tariff relief 'helps Tesla' — but not 'Big 3'

President Donald Trump celebrated his first 100 days in Michigan on Tuesday, but the state's top automakers remain stuck in "quicksand" while Tesla benefits, according to a Wednesday report.

Matt Sledge wrote for The Intercept that a leading analyst warned that Detroit's so-called "big three" automakers are suffering under Trump's trade war.

"Trump’s first round of massive tariffs fueled widespread attention to the fact that, of the major carmakers, Tesla seemed to be the best protected from the direct impact of tariffs," Sledge wrote.

Trump signed a new executive order on Tuesday that rolled back some of his tariffs, which would have hurt U.S. automakers since they depend on car parts that are being heavily taxed.

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But analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said Tesla scored big time.

“Helps Tesla a lot, Detroit Big 3 still in quicksand,” Wedbush said in an email, according to the report.

The two executive orders Trump signed were supposed to eliminate “cumulative” tariffs on imported cars and parts, while the other gave relief on car parts for vehicles made in the U.S.

“While not completely unscathed, Tesla is in the best position to weather this storm vs. the Big 3 and other foreign automakers as it localized 85% to 90% of its supply chain in the US and will be exempt from many of these tariffs,” Wedbush said.

Musk donated nearly $300 million to help elect Trump and support other Republican political causes.

Sledge cited the “2024 Made in America Auto Index,” produced by American University’s Kogod School of Business, that the top five cars with the most amount of it made in either the United States or Canada.

Even with the changes to the Trump tariffs, Wedbush remained pessimistic about the future of the U.S. auto industry. The average price increase for a car would be between $5,000 and $10,000.

“This continues to be a Twilight Zone situation for the entire automaker industry which continues to be paralyzed further cost increases and uncertainties that will change the paradigm for the US auto industry for years to come in this stays into effect,” Wedbush said. “We believe the auto tariffs in their current form adds up to $100 billion of costs annually to the auto industry and will essentially get passed directly onto the consumer and clearly erode demand on Day 1 of tariffs.”

See the full report here.