Despite the bump that it received last week after Elon Musk’s earnings announcement, Tesla (TSLA) is still facing an uphill battle. Shares kicked off this week by falling, suggesting that the stock’s momentum may be short-lived.
With Musk announcing that he plans on cutting back his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), many investors rejoiced, and the market reacted well, despite the vagueness of Musk’s statement. Now it seems that the hype is already cooling off, just a few days later.
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TSLA stock still has quite a bit of ground to make up, having declined more than 27% year-to-date (YTD). Given the company’s disappointing Q1 earnings report, the company will need to show investors that it is capable of turning things around.
Unfortunately for Tesla, one of its key markets is getting even more crowded. One of Musk’s biggest rivals has a new venture that could mean extremely bad news.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk may soon have even one more problem on his hands.
Image source: TheStreet/Getty
One of Musk’s rivals has a new plan of attack
As Tesla’s earnings revealed, the company has been having a lot of trouble selling its cars. While the electric vehicle (EV) market remains robust, consumer sentiment toward Tesla has severely compromised its growth on a global scale, as backlash for Musk’s political affiliations continues to spread.
One product that has proven difficult to move is the Cybertruck. Musk hyped Tesla’s futuristic pickup truck as the company prepared to roll it out. But as TheStreet recently reported, photos have shown that Tesla is storing a shocking amount of these vehicles in parking lots, clearly unable to sell them.
Related: Key analyst believes Tesla and Elon Musk are running out of time
Now the market for electric trucks has a key player, one who is already competing with Musk on multiple fronts. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is backing a fast-growing EV startup called Slate Auto that is advertising customizable electric pickups with a significantly lower price tag than the Cybertruck.
Founded in 2022, the startup operated in stealth mode until this year, busting onto the scene with a splash that turned many heads, likely including Musk’s. The least expensive Cybertruck is currently priced at roughly $69,990, whereas Slate’s electric trucks start at only $25,000, a price that falls below $20,000 with EV tax credits.
Slate CEO Chris Barman is a mechanical engineer who spent the bulk of her career at Chrysler, helping the company scale multiple operations. She believes that her team is uniquely positioned to create an affordable electric truck that other companies cannot, highlighting their innovative modeling and design work.
“By the end of 2027 or early 2028, we are looking at [producing] 150,000 units a year,” she states. “We think people are going to say, ‘Wow, now I can afford a new car at the latest safety standards, with a full warranty that will give me stability for the next five to 10 years.”
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If Slate can successfully execute on this, the company will have pulled something off that Musk has not been able to accomplish. The Tesla CEO spent years teasing a $25,000 vehicle, only to scrap the initiative last year, disappointing many consumers who had wanted to own a Tesla.
Now, one of his rivals is taking a major step toward beating him to the market.
Bezos’ new venture is truly the opposite of Tesla
For years, experts have speculated as to which company should be considered the “Tesla-killer,” or the company with the most ability to dethrone Musk as leader of the EV race.
Related: Experts sound alarm on Elon Musk’s misguided Tesla plan
Many experts suggested Rivian as a likely candidate, pointing to the EV startup’s sleek trucks and trendy-looking SUVs. But now it seems that Slate is in an excellent position to rival both companies, as it prepares to start rolling out visually appealing electric trucks at a much lower price tag than either automaker.
As TechCrunch notes, the Slate pickup is a stark contrast to the Cybertruck. “It’s affordable, deeply customizable, and very analog,” the outlet reports. “It has manual windows and it doesn’t come with a main infotainment screen.”
It adds that the vehicle can even transform from a pickup truck into an SUV with more seats.
The fact that Bezos has invested in a company producing an anti-Tesla product suggests that he remains committed to taking Musk down. His space exploration company, Blue Origin, already rivals SpaceX. Now he is gearing up to compete with Musk in the EV market as well.
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