I am in Europe right now and Chinese electric vehicles are everywhere. I worry that we are making a grave mistake not allowing them into the US, because we are willfully blinding ourselves to how the auto market is evolving globally. If can’t see and try these cars, how are we supposed to compete with them? Lost also among the loud cries of national security concerns is the fact that this proliferation of Chinese EV options is accelerating EV adoption. Chargers are getting installed at homes, on streets, and across highways because of the demand these low cost Chinese EVs are creating. That’s good for air quality in our cities, good for our planet, and helping move the planet into the future. That benefits American companies like Tesla that want to sell EVs too by expanding the market. I would love if American companies were leading the way on this, but outside of Tesla they’re not. Is our position really that the EV transition should stand still until America wakes up? Regarding national security concerns, we have Chinese made phones and computers. The Chinese have American cars. We can protect privacy and national security by implementing some of the same protections — for example, requiring American software and American data centers on these vehicles even if they are made in China. This trip to Europe has been eye opening. Europe and Asia are charging forward into the future with EV adoption, and the United States is getting left behind, fighting against the inevitable. Sticking our heads in the sand will not save American industry — it will only accelerate our collapse. I know it’s an unpopular position, but we need to allow Chinese EVs to sell into the US market on the same terms that Americans are allowed to sell their cars into the Chinese market. (1) Otherwise, America will not produce the cars of the future and our auto industry will die. Guaranteed. (1) (This has the side benefit of encouraging better terms for American automakers that want to sell their cars into China, the world’s biggest auto market. It is in America’s interest to sell as many of our cars and other products around the world as possible, including in China)