It's premature to declare any winners in the EV competition ---- Warren Buffett

[Majestic-milf]

 Over the last decade, the EV business has recorded historic growth. Last year, global EV sales rose by 62% in the first half of the year, and it has been estimated that by 2030, global EV market size will rise to be over 39,000 units.
 In recent years, Tesla (TSLA) seem to be holding court as the dominant makers of EVs in the US market with a market share   of 54.3%, trumping the likes of legacy car makers Ford (F) and General Motors (GM).
 The competition as to who remains King of the EV business intensifies and auto makers, Tesla inclusive have admitted they are willing to go through price cuts to continue in the race for market leadership.
 But Warren Buffett has a different take to this as he believes it's quite premature to start declaring winners in the EV competition; even citing how unstable the auto business world is with the instance of Ford's Model T product, even going as far as saying, and I quote "I think I know where Apple’s going to be in 5 or 10 years, and I don't know what the car companies are going to be in 5 or 10 years."
 Personally, I agree with him but some might think Tesla's got this one bagged. What do you guys think??

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/buffett-on-investing-in-evs-you-wont-see-anyone-that-owns-the-market-182121254.html

[Don Pedro Dinero]

Personally, I agree with him but some might think Tesla's got this one bagged. What do you guys think??

Don't be so quick to claim victory, there are cheaper Chinese-made electric vehicles with good value for money, the BYD brand stands out quite a lot in this respect. I don't know if Tesla will end up succeeding as a matter of branding, having acquired the fame earlier, something like Apple, but at least it will have competition. Those looking for the best value for money without looking so much at the brand name will probably opt for BYD or other brands that might be able to make a name for themselves. I agree with Buffet that the market is not mature enough to draw firm conclusions.

[be.open]

Personally, I agree with him but some might think Tesla's got this one bagged. What do you guys think??

Don't be so quick to claim victory, there are cheaper Chinese-made electric vehicles with good value for money, the BYD brand stands out quite a lot in this respect. I don't know if Tesla will end up succeeding as a matter of branding, having acquired the fame earlier, something like Apple, but at least it will have competition. Those looking for the best value for money without looking so much at the brand name will probably opt for BYD or other brands that might be able to make a name for themselves. I agree with Buffet that the market is not mature enough to draw firm conclusions.

For a better understanding of this topic, it is important to know two things:
1. Currently, BYD is the world leader in the electric car market in terms of the number of cars produced, with a 1.5-fold advantage over Tesla.
2. Warren Buffett's investment fund Berkshire Hathaway is one of BYD's largest shareholders.

[avikz]

EV is just couple of years old technology so if we conclude the winner right now, that won't be justified for sure. Because the battery cell technology is still at a very basic stage and multiple research and development activities are ongoing to find a better and more effective battery technology. No one knows what will be coming out in the future and how it will benefit the current car makers.

A lot to happen in the EV market still. So what Warren Buffet is saying, makes sense! Unlike his other statements on cryptos.

[BenCodie]

With the constant improvement of AI, it is possible that a superior fuel source could be created/discovered that would render electric vehicles inefficient. I would predict that this could very easily happen between now and 2030, contrary to the belief that EVs will continue to grow expontentially between now and then.

[slapper]

Realistically, the EV race is no different from any other kind of contest. Whoever has the greatest...market share, wins. And at the moment, Tesla appears to be at the pinnacle of their power.

Warren Buffett made the astute observation that the auto industry is highly volatile. The market could throw any number of unexpected challenges our way in the coming years. Perhaps a challenger will soon emerge to grab Tesla's spotlight.

If there's one thing we can always bank on, it's transformation. Who is to say, though, that Tesla will still be at the top in a few years? Time will tell.

[jrrsparkles]

Actually, Tesla can't be the leader of EV market because they lack infrastructure like other auto motive brands all over the world so if world is moving towards EV in the next 5 years then surely it will be the existing company will make the leadership or Tesla have to build their brand names in real world not just in social media.

[Hispo]

My personal prediction is that while most of the people is keeping an eye on American or Western corporations when comes to the race for the Electric mobility supremacy,  the truth is that a Chinese company will likely have advantage in the future, because about the same reasons China has had so many advantages in other industries for years.

They have access to rare earths, a political system which allows them to take quick decisions and a huge working population at competitive price. Of course all that at the cost of civil freedom, but that is a different topic.

If western companies do not take measures to toughen their presence in other markets like Latin America, Africa and Asia, then the Chinese would fill the void.

[el kaka22]

He is quite right. I understand that Tesla made a big breakthrough and that is why everyone loved it, and they were the first ones to make EV a mainstream thing, when people talked about EV's they talked about Tesla, and became one of the largest car companies if not the largest.

However, they are not going to be this big forever, they are going to end up with a lot less and they are going to end up with much more competition every single day. Other car companies didn't care about EV this much, they are caring more about it every single day and that is important fact. I think it is important to keep on having some sort of difference here and Tesla may not stay like this forever, that is why it's quite important to make sure you know about 10 years ahead like Warren Buffet says.