Carlos Tavares has been out as CEO of Stellantis for a couple of yr now, and within the time away he busied himself by writing a guide, entertainingly titled in French Un pilote dans la tempête (“A Pilot within the Storm,” though you can maybe render “storm” as “tempest” and higher seize Tavares’ tenure). He has been commenting on the present state of the auto business and in a current report he supplied some ideas on Elon Musk and his future.
From Dwell Mint (referencing Fortune and the French paper Les Echos):
“We won’t rule out that in some unspecified time in the future, he’ll resolve to go away the automotive business to refocus on humanoid robots, SpaceX, or synthetic intelligence,” Tavares was quoted as saying. “Elon Musk may have left the automotive business,” he added.
That is an astute evaluation. Whereas Tesla has entered a bumpy interval, with out a lot enthusiasm for brand new and even promised merchandise (Good day? New Roadster?), Musk appears pretty enthusiastic about Optimus robots and xAI, and there is not any query that SpaceX and particularly Starlink doubtlessly supply significantly increased future revenue margins than what Tesla has delivered.
BYD for the win
Like many others within the business, Tavares singles out BYD for its fast progress and the possibly existential quandary the Chinese language firm poses for Tesla. “I am unsure that Tesla will nonetheless exist in 10 years,” he reportedly mentioned. “It is an modern group, however they will be crushed by BYD’s effectivity.” That appears like an excessive prediction, however except Tesla can convert itself into being a market-leading supplier of autonomy and robotaxis, the corporate may settle into being only a reasonably worthwhile mass-market EV producer. And wrestle to take care of its place towards a bunch of rivals.
To show Tavares and others naysayers unsuitable, Musk would possibly want to simply accept that he is nonetheless operating a carmaker and make a couple of concessions to that truth. For instance, by introducing some interesting autos in numerous segments. A correct pickup truck, changing the unique and unsuccessful Cybertruck. A real three-row SUV. A revamp of the Mannequin S, in order that Tesla continues to promote a high-quality EV sedan that appeals to luxurious consumers.
Tavares as gadfly
Earlier this yr, Tavares gave an interview by which he gave the impression to be having fun with a cheerful post-Stellantis life in Portugal. Extra just lately, nevertheless, he appears to be settling some scores and making an attempt to cement his status because the final empire builder within the automotive enterprise (Tavares realized from Carlos Ghosn, the disgraced architect of the Renault-Nissan alliance and the empire-builder who confirmed Tavares the way to do the constructing). Placing Musk in his place is a logical a part of that course of.
In fact, Musk has sort of constructed his personal empire. True, Tesla is not promoting automobiles on the identical degree as Stellantis, however it’s nonetheless sporting a $1.5-trillion market cap. Possibly the robots and the robotaxis will make it price vastly extra. And we’ve not even gotten to SpaceX and its potential worth, or no matter xAI finally ends up claiming if the AI growth would not go bust. Then once more, no automotive firm is a positive factor endlessly. Tavares is not unsuitable that Tesla may, sometime, go away.