Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown (D), for one, who is calling for an outright ban on plug-in vehicles from the rival country. “Chinese electric vehicles are an existential threat to the American auto industry,” Brown said, echoing a similar comment made recently by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The concern is that Chinese EVs are so cheap — BYD’s Seagull sells for around $10,000 — that domestic automakers couldn’t possibly compete.