President Donald Trump‘s adversaries are punching back at his administration with targeted punishment aimed at his trusted adviser and DOGE leader Elon Musk.

Canada and China implemented actions toward Musk’s companies, Tesla and Starlink, in retaliation against the United States’s tariff plan.

The U.S. levied a 10% additional tariff on imports from China and threatened a 25% tariff against Canada on all imports. Trump previously levied a 25% steel tariff on Canada as well. Both tariffs against Canada are paused until March.

China is debating whether to use Tesla’s pursuit of a self-driving license as a bargaining chip in its trade war against the U.S. The license previously appeared like it would be approved, but progress has slowed. A rejection would hurt Tesla and prevent it from creating a foothold in China with several other electric vehicle competitors there.

Tesla owned just a 4.5% share of new EV sales in China in January, compared to a 44% share in the U.S. for the last part of 2024.

Tesla employees believe that approval would only come pending “a major breakthrough or concession” in trade talks, according to the Financial Times. A significant concession is unlikely given that the U.S. has had a trade war with China since Trump’s first term and throughout former President Joe Biden’s only term.

China could be hoping that pressure on Musk will point him toward advising Trump to soften the tariffs.

Musk also has opponents closer to home.

Canada previously promised to oppose Musk’s Starlink, which aims to provide satellite internet service. Ontario Premier Doug Ford could ban U.S. companies from provincial contracts altogether.

“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink,” he said on Feb. 3. “Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”

Those threats came before Trump paused the tariffs until March, but they still stand if they go into effect.

Ontario signed a deal with Starlink in November to provide internet to 15,000 eligible homes and businesses in more remote communities. Musk previously shrugged off the threat, saying, “Oh well,” in an X post responding to Ford.

Outside of U.S. trade talks, Musk is facing foreign retaliation for his political remarks. Friedrich Merz, a candidate for Germany’s next chancellor, recently expressed his displeasure that Musk is backing the right-wing German political party AfD. Merz believes Musk’s comments amount to election interference.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“What happened in this election campaign cannot go unchallenged,” Merz told the Wall Street Journal. “It can be a political response. It can be a legal response. I want to analyze this calmly after this election campaign.”

Merz added that he’s not ruling out consequences for a Tesla factory in Berlin, saying, “I am deliberately leaving the consequences open for now.”