NIO (NIO) pushed back Tuesday against the US Department of Defense's addition of the company to a list of Chinese military companies.

The company said it believes its inclusion on the list is "not justified as it is not a Chinese military company or a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base."

Being placed on the list does not exclude it from US government procurement contracts or from trading in the company's securities, it said.

The electric vehicle maker "will proactively engage" with the Pentagon to remove itself from the list and consider "legal actions," it said.