AT least three ships roughly the length of two football fields are slated to arrive at ports in China by the end of this month, each carrying precious cargo from Elon Musk. Tesla Inc. is loading as many Model 3 sedans as it can onto vessels destined for China ahead of March 1, when a trade war truce is scheduled to expire.

Other carmakers are at risk of seeing expenses rise again if the trade war flares back up. But Musk is in perhaps the most precarious position in the industry. Global giants such as BMW AG and Daimler AG can wiggle around the tariffs to an extent by boosting production at existing China factories, but Tesla’s manufacturing presence there was merely a muddy field as of last month. It won’t be assembling any vehicles in China until the end of 2019 at the earliest.

“They’re uniquely exposed,” said Robin Zhu, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.

Musk said getting cars to China before a potential increase in tariffs was a key priority when Tesla reported a smaller-than-expected profit Jan. 30. Higher duties would combine with already elevated transport and labor costs to make the company’s vehicles much pricier than competitors’.

“Our car is just very expensive going into China,” Musk said on the earnings call. “The demand for Model 3 is insanely high. The inhibitor is affordability.”

The vessel Glovis Symphony docked at the port of Tianjin early this week and was due to arrive in Shanghai yesterday. Two more carriers, Morning Cindy and Emerald Ace, are at sea and scheduled to reach China’s shores Feb. 19 and 24, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Model 3 is the linchpin of Tesla’s effort to appeal to a wider global audience, with Musk promising for years that a version eventually will be available for US$35,000 before incentives.

In China, the Model 3 starts at 433,000 yuan (US$63,900). Some of the best-selling electric cars in the market can be had for less than a sixth of that price. Beijing Electric Vehicle Co.’s EC Series and Chery Automobile Co.’s eQ are listed at 65,800 yuan after subsidies.

The company also is working closely with government officials in Shanghai to build a vehicle and battery factory. Musk said he expects to make several trips to China this year.

“We’re thinking about demand almost zero right now,” Musk said during the earnings call. Getting cars to China before there’s a potential rise in tariffs is “really on top of mind.”(SD-Agencies)