Ex-Ford CEO warns of 'real financial trouble' for EV startups | Hacker News Reader

Ex-Ford CEO warns of 'real financial trouble' for EV startups

fortune.com

8 pointsBrajeshwar8 comments

Only because the majors (except for Tesla) haven’t done a damn thing to build out charging infrastructure in the US.

Rivian has installed more chargers than Ford. RIVIAN. A startup that didn’t exist 15 years ago.

Legacy auto management are coasting, resting and collecting comp, because they won't be around in the future when Tesla and BYD steamroll them.

20% of global vehicle sales last year were EVs [1]. The next 80% will come very quickly. Combustion vehicle automakers in China are mothballing their factories and taking losses when selling them [2].

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39575172 ("HN: IEA: 20% of 2023 new car sales globally were EVs, curbing oil demand")

[2] https://www.ft.com/content/b255d7b9-88f6-4481-a3a6-87542d2b7... | https://archive.today/eC5Pp ("Zombie car factories on the rise in China as buyers opt for EVs")

Agreed, but how sad is it that they won’t step down and promote people that will lean into the future.

Violently incongruent with the mental model of folks who make it to these levels. They lean into themselves instead and let the org rot.

One of the main factors of the current plateau is the apartment factor. Willing folks in homes already bought and are close to saturation.

Next is to get apartments with parking and those without, aka street chargers. Both are really needed in Los Angeles for example. Which is otherwise EV friendly.

I remember a comment here from someone working on that issue.

I dunno, I know plenty of people like myself who want an EV next but won't buy one until my current car reaches end of life.

Also if my car died today I'm not sure an EV would make more financial sense than something like a Toyota Corolla hybrid. Or even a Prius Prime.

It sounds like you’re on the fence, not yet a potential buyer.

In other words, he's parroting articles that have appeared recently in the WSJ, Forbes and other mags. Clever guy.

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