Legacy Automakers Can't Transition to EVs
The CEO of Stellantis, the world's largest automaker...
...said there's no way they can be competitive in the EV space. "The EV cost burden is beyond the limits for automakers" he said. "External pressure on automakers to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles potentially threatens jobs and vehicle quality as producers struggle to manage the higher costs of building EVs."
The manufacturing costs have come down for Tesla, because they've been doing it for 10 years. Nice head-start. And as more of their factories open in January of 2022, costs will decrease even further. So I guess Tesla will just have to be the auto industry leader as more and more consumers want EVs. Oh, I forgot, they're already the EV industry leader.
And those poor legacy automakers. They're too large and too ingrained in fossil fuel vehicle manufacturing to transition to EVs without losing their shirts. Boo hoo. If they had the foresight to start transitioning five years ago, they could have done it. But they were counting on Tesla failing. Oops! Now the consumers see the benefits of EVs thanks to Tesla, and now over 50% of those surveyed said they would consider an EV for their next purchase. And then when the Federal EV incentives become available in January 2022, EV adoption will increase, and it will rise exponentially, and as it does, sales of fossil fueled vehicles will decline, cutting the legs out from under the legacy automakers, reducing their operating revenue, making it even more difficult to transition to EVs. And at that point, for some of them, impossible.
And what about the "EV leader", GM
They say they're commited to making EVs. The President of the United States (incorrectly) said they are the leader in the EV industry, and yet...
"Cell Factory"
is where they make batteries. "Semi factory" is where they
make semi-tractor-trailer trucks.
GM, and all the other legacy automakers, don't want to make EVs (less profits over time). If Tesla disappeared, they'd all stop making EVs. Who do you want to give the many thousands of dollars that a car costs to... who do you want to support? Tesla or GM?