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

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”

How strong is India’s economy?

From the April 27th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Leaders

How to respond to the riots on Britain’s streets

The violence demands robust policing, but it also requires cool heads

Is the big state back in Britain?

The risk is not too much interventionism, but too little audacity



Genomic medicines can cost $3m a dose. How to make them affordable

The treatments are marvels of innovation. Their pricing must be inventive, too

Chinese companies are winning the global south

Their expansion abroad holds important lessons for Western incumbents

The Middle East must step back from the brink

That still means starting with a ceasefire in Gaza