Tesla is still the U.S. EV throneholder
In the not-too-distant past, Tesla was regarded as a major disruptor of the American car industry, as the now Texas-based firm had been at the forefront of developing some of the most desirable and bestselling electric vehicles ever to hit the market.
No matter your opinion about the Elon Musk-led firm, it is next to impossible to deny that the company has left its mark on the industry, as its market dominance has led the automotive establishment from Hyundai to GM chasing the electric dragon. However, one former notable automotive exec with a wealth of experience says the company may no longer be in the car business and could even disappear within 10 years.
Tavares says the pressure on Tesla will get to it
In a recent interview with French newspaper Les Echos, Tavares did not pull any punches regarding his thoughts about Tesla, noting that the Musk-led automaker may falter if Elon focuses his energy elsewhere. Already, Musk leads multiple ventures, and with prolific rivals like the Chinese BYD taking a significant chunk out of its global sales, Tavares says it won’t be long before he says sayonara.
“We can’t rule out that at some point, he’ll decide to leave the automotive industry to refocus on humanoid robots, SpaceX, or artificial intelligence,” Tavares said in an interview before his book release. “Elon Musk will have left the automotive industry.” In addition, Tavares pointed out BYD is beating Tesla at its own game, as it produces cheaper, more efficient vehicles.
“Tesla’s stock market value loss will be colossal because this valuation is simply stratospheric,” he said. “I’m not sure that Tesla will still exist in 10 years. It’s an innovative group, but they’ll be beaten by BYD’s efficiency.”
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Tesla is trying to hang onto its CEO
Tavares’s remarks come on the heels of Tesla trying to hang on to its superstar CEO, as it faces supply chain setbacks triggered by Trump’s tariffs, as well as sales pressure following the elimination of the $7,500 Federal EV tax credit in the U.S. Tesla has reiterated many times that it needs to have Musk at the C-suite in order to achieve its long-term goals. On November 6, shareholders will vote on whether to approve a massive 10-year $1 trillion (yes, one trillion dollar) pay package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as well as other lofty goals that include boosting the company’s market cap by 500% to $8.5 trillion.
Though proxy advisory firms have warned Tesla shareholders to vote against this pay package, Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm stated that the package “aims to see Tesla grow larger than any company in history.”
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This isn’t Tavares’ first auto industry-related insight as of late
Tavares’s spat about Tesla isn’t the latest auto industry-related insight that he spoke out about as of late. In a recent report published by Bloomberg, the former CEO of Stellantis stated in his new book that Stellantis’s French, Italian, and U.S. operations may break off on their own if it fails to appease its various stakeholders in their respective territories.
He wrote that he was worried “that the three-way balance between Italy, France, and the US will break” within Stellantis, adding that its survival as a company is dependent on its management and C-suite paying attention to unity “every day” amidst the pressures of being pulled in multiple directions.
Final thoughts
Tavares’s remarks come at a time when Tesla’s uphill battle comes from many fronts, including tariffs, nonexistent EV tax credits, and a $1 trillion pay package for its CEO that has outside influence on shareholders. While Tesla has recently released a lower-cost version of the volume-selling Model 3 and Model Y cars, it’s hard to deny that its market share in the U.S. and in key markets is shrinking.
