Tesla would have delivered more cars in the most recent quarter but for a shortage of boats. It’s having problems finding vessel capacity out of Shanghai. No wonder: China recently overtook Germany as the world’s second-largest auto exporter.
The new US export restrictions on semiconductor technology put the companies of Chip 4 partner countries in a difficult place. With a big sunk cost in a market with a 1.4 billion population, South Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese companies may need to start drawing up contingency plans and make tough choices as the US-China power struggle becomes inevitable.