The trade war between the United States and China is battering Tesla's competitiveness, the U.S. electric auto maker said Tuesday.

In announcing its third-quarter vehicle production numbers, Tesla said it was able to "significantly increase" deliveries of its Model S and Model X vehicles "notwithstanding the headwinds we have been facing from the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China."

Elon Musk's electric vehicle company pointed out that China has put an import tariff of 40 percent on Tesla vehicles, compared with 15 percent for other vehicles imported to China.

Tesla said it costs 55 percent to 60 percent more to make its vehicles than "the exact same car" made by Chinese producers. The market in China is "by far the largest" in the world for electric vehicles, Tesla said.

Shares of Tesla closed down 3.1 percent in Tuesday at $301.02 a share.