Elon Musk has criticised US government tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, describing the levies as “not good” and a distortion of the car market.

The Tesla chief executive had previously supported trade barriers but he performed a U-turn on Thursday during a video appearance at a Paris tech conference.

“Neither Tesla nor I asked for these tariffs, in fact I was surprised when they were announced. Things that inhibit freedom of exchange or distort the market are not good,” Musk said at Viva Technology via video link.

Joe Biden, introduced new tariffs – a tax charged on foreign imports – on an array of Chinese goods, including EVs this month, in an effort to support US manufacturing. The White House has maintained a number of tariffs introduced during Donald Trump’s presidency, while ratcheting up others, including quadrupling EV duties to more than 100%. The new measures affect $18bn (£14bn) in imported Chinese goods, according to officials.

In January, Musk said trade barriers were needed or China would “demolish most other car companies in the world”. Tesla’s financial performance has been affected by competition from Chinese manufacturers, including downward pressure on prices. Last month, Tesla reclaimed the title of the world’s largest EV manufacturer from its Chinese rival BYD, based on first quarter car sales.

Speaking at the Viva conference, Musk rowed back on his January comments. He said Tesla competed “quite well” in the key Chinese market without tariffs. This week a Chinese trade group said Beijing was considering retaliatory tariffs, albeit on petrol-powered cars.

“Tesla competes quite well in the market in China with no tariffs and no deferential support. I’m in favour of no tariffs,” Musk said.