There is one growth industry when import tariffs are imposed: smuggling. Associated with smuggling come corruption of public officials to have them look the other way and of society at large because when you knowingly buy the less expensive smuggled goods you become corrupt too.
I might be wrong here, but I remember reading somewhere that the trigger for the Boston Tea Party was not the imposition of taxes on tea, but their reduction. This threatened the business model of local tea-smugglers, who promptly rioted and threw the (now cheaper) legally imported tea into the harbour.
A Chinese backed European economy with EV's not polluting the major cities would be a big slap in the face to Trump and his stance on being anti-EV.
With musk he has to use an rather neutral stance, since that crony makes a lot of money with EVs.