Standard business practice. Pull the ladder up after you, forming a moat, preventing your competitors from competing, so you can charge monopoly prices. Happens all the time, and as a businessman, you'd be stupid not to do it.
I wonder if he's hoping Trump will stick massive tariffs on foreign competitors and mean he can just take the US market for himself? Though he also seems keen on selling in Europe and China, and he's setting himself up as a prime target for any retaliatory tariffs... maybe it just ketamine after all.
From my understanding, the EV market has slowed in the US because of the price point. There are very few options under $40k. Elon promised us a $25k model but made the Cybertruck instead. US car companies had decided some time ago they wanted to exit the low-end market. So now foreign companies serve that and China is the only one producing EVs in that price range at scale.
