GoKawiilAt the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, spoke with unexpected candor about the Xiaomi SU7, a Chinese electric car he had managed to import from Shanghai to Chicago. “I don’t want to give it up,” he said. It was a startling statement from the head of one of the US's most longstanding automakers.
Around that time, influencer and tech reviewer Marques Brownlee posted a glowing review of the Xiaomi SU7 Max, a variant with dual-motor All Wheel Drive, a much larger battery, 800V fast- charging, air suspension, and supercar-level acceleration. Brownlee praised the vehicle’s refinement, aggressive pricing, and software integration. The sleek, affordable EV is capable of nearly 500 miles of China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle-rated range.
For viewers familiar with Brownlee’s typically measured delivery, there was something unusual about his delivery in this review. His pauses lingered slightly longer than normal. His tone carried flashes of genuine disbelief. Xiaomi did not simply impress him. It appeared to unsettle him . “It’s not often you see a car with great software, great features, great build quality, great versatility, great range, and a great drive, all stacked together,” he said. “That’s pretty elite.”
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Americans watch the rest of the world getting better, cheaper, and sometimes radically more advanced products in real time while being told they can’t have them.
Alas, most Americans will never be able to buy one. Current US regulations effectively place these cars behind a 25-year “wait wall,” an import restriction enforced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It prevents foreign-market vehicles from being legally driven here until they are at least 25 years old, unless manufacturers spend heavily to certify them for US safety and emissions standards.
At the same time, satellite imagery revealed enormous European parking lots filled with surplus vehicles from another Chinese EV manufacturer, BYD—a potent visual reminder of the imbalance shaping the modern EV economy.
Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), citing "unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of US persons," in December implemented a ban on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), including drones, manufactured outside the US. In March, the FCC banned the sale of new foreign-made routers in the US, pointing to cybersecurity threats posed by vulnerable networking gear.
Americans are also denied cutting-edge batteries and solar technology because tariffs, import restrictions, national security concerns, and industrial policy have effectively fenced off many of the world’s most advanced and affordable Chinese energy products from the US market.
For the first time in modern consumer tech history, Americans watch the rest of the world getting better, cheaper, and sometimes radically more advanced products in real time while being told they can’t have them. Simultaneously, people like me have a “Neo plugged into the Matrix like a battery” sense that they and their credit cards are exactly where US industry icons, notably Elon Musk, prefer them to be.
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