(Gia' si stanno muovendo alcuni senatori repubblicani per cancellare ObamaCare. Poi sara' la volta della Green Economy)
Some of the biggest implications for Tesla may come in the form of new U.S. energy policies that favor traditional fuel sources such as oil and coal, said Kathryn Thomson, a former top lawyer for the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation.
"Anybody who advocates for energy-efficient, sustainable solutions should be worried," said Thomson. "On the one hand, Trump is saying, 'Let's look at all the options,' and that's positive. On the other hand, he seems to be pushing more-conventional fuels and technologies. And that's not good for innovation, and that's not good for efficiency and sustainability."
Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Company chief executive Elon Musk has said publicly that Trump is "not the right guy" for the White House.
Trump has signaled that he will roll back regulations on fossil fuels, approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and boost the coal industry. In May he said that his energy platform would not "pick winners and losers." By default, analysts say, this is likely to benefit oil and gas companies that have dominated the energy sector for decades, whereas without government assistance, newer entrants such as Tesla will face an uphill battle.
Trump's administration would be "clearly in favor of enhanced exploration and production of oil and gas as a tenet of energy, economic and national security policy," Scott Segal, co-head of government relations at the legal and lobbying firm Bracewell, told the Washington Post.
Adoption of electric cars could also be affected by the expiration of tax credits associated with the technology. Under the current rules, consumers can claim up to a $7,500 credit for buying an electric car, so long as the manufacturer that produced it has not reached a federally mandated cutoff. This knocks the price of a Tesla Model 3 from $35,000 to $27,500.
The future of these tax credits may come into question based on Trump's opposition to the government picking winners and losers; once all the credits have been handed out, it would require government action to continue the program.
"Traditionally, Republicans have been less supportive of policies that promote one technology over another, so there could be some austerity measures that could threaten alternative fuel incentives," said John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute.
That, in turn, could drive up the price of electric vehicles. Developing a low-cost electric car that mainstream consumers can afford has been a principal goal of Tesla's from its earliest days.
"Our long term plan is to build a wide range of models, including affordably priced family cars," wrote Musk in a strategy blueprint in 2006. He added that Tesla would attempt to drive down the price "as fast as possible." The tax credits' looming expiration casts a shadow on that approach.
"The industry, as a whole, is too far down the path of addressing what consumers want and need from EVs, with brands such as Tesla, GM and Nissan leading the way," said Tony Lim, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book.
Tesla shares opened down nearly 3 percent Wednesday.
Auto stocks were down across the board Tuesday, seemingly in response to concerns that Trump's Mexico policy could hurt exports to the United States (many car makers have factories there), according to Bloomberg. And Tesla also has some operations in Mexico: Last year, it began selling the Model S and building out its network of superchargers there. It also buys lithium from Mexico for the batteries made in its Nevada Gigafactory.
But unlike Tesla's competitors, who can continue to thrive on sales of gasoline-fueled cars even in a tougher trade environment, Tesla's fate is more directly tied to Trump's energy strategy.
