It’s hard to find anything “analogous” in automotive history to the ongoing crisis at Tesla, JP Morgan warned, as the automaker’s global sales collapse, its stock price further tumbles and CEO Elon Musk’s once hero image goes up in flames. There are few signs Pres. Donald Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement of the brand last week will generate sales. If anything, Tesla itself now warns, the company could get caught up in Trump’s trade war.
President Donald Trump’s new tariffs threaten to shake up the auto industry, threatening to add thousands of dollars to the cost of even U.S.-made vehicles. For now, though, BMW will give buyers a break, the automaker saying it will absorb the added tariff costs on vehicles it imports from Mexico. Whether BMW can maintain that strategy – and whether other manufacturers will follow – is unclear.
“I bought this after Elon went crazy.” We’ve seen plenty of bumper stickers like that, lately, but this one was on the back of a Kia EV3, found in a snarky Instagram post by Kia’s Norwegian subsidiary. And, it seems, many Tesla buyers may be listening. A growing number of them are trading in as backlash grows against CEO Elon Musk’s turn to the political right. Protests are growing at Tesla dealerships around the world, one showroom in France firebombed. Here’s more.
Nissan has again shaken up its top management team, this time appointing Ivan Espinosa as its new CEO. He replaces Makoto Uchida who, critics said, failed to reverse the ongoing decline of Japan’s second-largest automaker. The automaker’s chairman warned the new chief executive will face a “challenging start” during a Tokyo news conference that also revealed a number of other senior management changes.
The bulls are still, well, bullish, when it comes to Tesla stock, but the rest of Wall Street seems increasingly nervous and that’s cost the EV maker fully half of its market capitalization since reaching a mid-December, post-election high. And one man appears to catch most of the blame: CEO Elon Musk. More from Headlight.News.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would delay by a month new tariffs covering Canadian and Mexican auto imports. But even with that delay, the industry is waiting to see if Trump will next move to target additional trade partners. Trump has already hinted that European automakers could be next in his sights. More from Headlight.News.
The tough times for Nissan’s current CEO Makoto Uchida continue as the company’s board reportedly plans to meet March 11 to review potential replacements for the embattled auto executive. This news comes as he continues to look for ways to turn the company around. Get details at Headlight.News.
Little more than a day after announcing plans to enact 25% tariffs on goods imported from the Mexico and Canada, Pres. Donald Trump threw a temporary lifeline to the auto industry by granting a one-month reprieve on automotive parts and vehicles. But the threat remains that sanctions could still follow if the U.S. can’t reach resolution with its two neighbors and leading trade partners – something Ford CEO Jim Farley warned “would blow a hole in the U.S. industry.”
President Donald Trump, as expected, launched new tariffs targeting Canada and Mexico while also increasing prior tariffs on China. All three countries responded with their own trade sanctions. The tariff war will increase prices on everything from avocados to semiconductors but economists warn few consumer goods will feel the heat more than automobiles – some models set to see price hikes of $12,000 or more. At a time when sticker shock is already impacting sales, analysts fear the U.S. auto industry could see sales and profits tumble – while job cuts also could be in the offing.
Sales of new vehicles held steady in February as Kia, Hyundai, Genesis, Subaru, Mazda and Honda all reported modest sales increases. But two of the largest automakers to report for the month, Toyota and Ford, delivered disappointing results. And Tesla’s numbers continued to show the impact of growing resistance to CEO Elon Musk and his role in the Trump administration. Headlight.News has more.
Barring a last-minute change of mind, the White House has signaled Pres. Donald Trump will announce new tariffs targeting America’s largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, on Tuesday. The move is expected to increase the cost of many common goods substantially, including not only fully assembled vehicles imported from America’s nearest neighbors but other cars, trucks and crossovers assembled in the U.S. That’s because virtually all of those models rely on at least some Mexican and Canadian parts, components and raw materials.
Tesla stock wracked up its sixth straight loss on Thursday, reaching its lowest point since the automaker’s shares surged in the wake of the 2024 presidential election and CEO Elon Musk’s close ties to Donald Trump. Musk’s role in the new Trump administration has been a key factor in the downturn, but analysts warn of other issues that could make it difficult for Tesla to bounce back.