Legacy automakers’ transition to EVs has not gone well, and one Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) bull expressed worries concerning the state of the auto industry heading into 2024.
Future Tense: “We are concerned over the future of the US auto industry — even more so than during
the Great Financial Crisis of 2008/2009,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas in a note released on Friday.
The relatively strong performance seen by the industry over the past few years was due to strong U.S. GDP growth, a low interest rate environment, firmer new and used car prices and inventory scarcity post COVID-19 that pushed up auto margins, Jonas said. In response to the buoyancy, automaker’s bumped up capex and R&D investment in “unfamiliar” areas, ranging from battery cell development to fully-autonomous robotaxis, he added.
“For years, investors largely supported Detroit's pivot to Auto 2.0 with a ‘glass ...