Leaders | Back on the road

Don’t be gloomy about Tesla and its EV rivals

The industry has had a terrible few months. But demand is likely to pick up

A Tesla charging station in Pasadena, California, United States — Photograph: Philip Cheung/New York Times/ Redux/eyevine

Apr 24th 2024

COULD DONALD TRUMP be right about electric vehicles? In March America’s former president, and its EV-basher-in-chief, complained that they “cost too much” and “don’t go far”. Many car buyers seem to agree. In America deliveries of EVs have not risen in the past three quarters. In greener-than-thou Europe they fell last month, by 11% year on year. On April 23rd Tesla, a byword for the electric revolution, reported poor quarterly results, with falling sales and revenues. It has shed $330bn in stockmarket value since January 1st. Five ev wannabes, collectively worth close to $400bn in 2021, are valued at a mere $58bn today.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Back on the road”