Concerns grow over Canada's electric vehicle manufacturing sector
With car manufacturers scaling back plans for electric vehicle plants, questions are emerging about the industry's future. Adrian Ghobrial reports.
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Between CEO Elon Musk's foray into right-wing politics, Tesla's aging product line, and the growing number of excellent EVs from other automakers, Tesla's sales have been hit hard. Global sales were down 13% in the first quarter of 2025 from a year earlier. In Europe and China -- arguably the two most critical global markets for EVs right now -- they're down even further so far in the second quarter, while overall sales of EVs continue to rise. Musk's answer has been to make -- or at least talk up -- an aggressive pivot to robotaxis. Tesla has claimed that its service's costs will be far below market leader Waymo's, in large part because Tesla doesn't bother with the expensive lidar sensors that Waymo considers critical to safety. While an optimist might say that cost advantage will lead to market domination, a more realistic view is that Tesla is taking a huge safety risk by sticking with its camera-only system -- a risk that the robotaxi business could end abruptly in a single news cycle if something goes badly wrong. Of course, with Tesla's valuation currently hovering around $1 trillion (a mere 169 times its revenue over the last year), it's reasonable to think that total robotaxi market domination is already built into the company's share price. That's a problem if the robotaxi push goes awry. But the real problem with Tesla stock is that none of that matters much anymore. Tesla's stock price isn't really about its business now Tesla's valuation these days is mostly a reflection of how the popularity and success of Elon Musk is viewed in any given moment. It's very similar to the dynamics behind meme coins, cryptocurrencies that generally lack any purpose (or put another way, any fundamental value) beyond the cultural value they hold and the communities that surround them. As my colleague Anders Bylund recently wrote: Meme coins spotlight the power of community and sentiment in the digital age. Their value is largely driven by social media, celebrity endorsements, and the broader meme culture that thrives on the internet. Tesla does have some fundamental value, of course -- the car and energy-storage businesses, the (maybe) robotaxi business, and the (someday, maybe, perhaps) humanoid-robot business. But the car business, the part that has generated most of Tesla's revenue to date, is trending in the wrong direction. That's a situation that would drive the stocks of most other automakers down to just a few times earnings. 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On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $367,516!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $38,712!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $669,517!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join Stock Advisor, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon. See the 3 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025
