Tesla Gets a $94 Billion Reality Check as EV Winter Sets In::Tesla Inc. had a blockbuster 2023, as its shares more than doubled in 12 months. But 2024 is starting on a different note, with Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker off to its worst start to any year — ever.
Listen, I completely agree with most of what you said until the last sentence. Tesla’s been around for long enough that they’ll survive. If by “matter of time” you mean a few decades or longer, sure, I could see someone buying them. Don’t know how long you’ve been around for, but I’ve been hearing this same thing since they went public. Yet, here we are.
Tesla’s been around for long enough that they’ll survive.
How do you figure that works, and why couldn’t these guys figure it out?
Oldsmobile (1897-2004): Once a popular and innovative brand, Oldsmobile struggled in the later years with uninspiring models and eventually met its demise under General Motors.
Packard (1899-1958): Known for their luxury and craftsmanship, Packard couldn’t compete with rising costs and changing consumer preferences in the post-war era.
Studebaker (1902-1966): A pioneer in automotive design, Studebaker faced financial difficulties and ultimately lost market share to bigger players like Ford and GM.
Hudson (1909-1954): Merged with Nash to form American Motors, Hudson was known for its affordable and stylish cars, but ultimately couldn’t weather the competitive landscape.
Willys-Overland (1908-1963): Responsible for the iconic Jeep, Willys-Overland struggled with diversifying its offerings and was eventually acquired by Kaiser Industries.
DeSoto (1928-1960): A Chrysler brand known for its mid-range offerings, DeSoto faced declining sales and was eventually phased out in favor of other Chrysler models.
Mercury (1939-2011): Ford’s upscale division, Mercury faced competition from its own parent company and other luxury brands, leading to its discontinuation.
Plymouth (1928-2001): Another Chrysler brand, Plymouth offered affordable and practical cars, but couldn’t keep up with changing consumer tastes and was eventually discontinued.
AMC (1954-1988): Born from the merger of Hudson and Nash, AMC found success with innovative designs like the Jeep and Gremlin, but ultimately couldn’t overcome financial challenges and was acquired by Chrysler.
Saturn (1990-2010): General Motors’ attempt at a revolutionary, customer-centric brand, Saturn faced production issues and market challenges, leading to its closure.
Hahaha, love that you came with receipts. People are extremely shortsighted sometimes and think surviving a few bad years means they’ll be around for a while. Companies can take a while to fail and can limp along for years before finally being sold off.
The same can be said of every single company then. I guess I don’t get why you would mention it.
Tesla has a market cap of $800 billion.
To put it in perspective… GM is on track to earn that much money over the next one hundred years - they made $9b last year and $6b the year before (that was a low year, supply chain issues).
And even if they somehow found the money, regulators would likely block it.
Tesla, on the other hand, could buy GM if they wanted to. Not sure why they would though, since Tesla is successfully selling EVs (the future) and GM can’t figure out how to repeat that. GM’s EV cars are not profitable yet and they just discontinued their best model (the Bolt).
This place is pro-ev, but very anti-Tesla. So weird. They’re naming failed car companies and sure, it does prove their point, but most companies fail. I could literally say the same thing about Ford and Toyota. Who knows what happens in the future. Literally no one knows.
