Elon Musk: The Rise of Electric Cars is Unstoppable, Despite Trump

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Elon Musk has dismissed the notion that Donald Trump could halt the growth of electric vehicles, asserting that their success is "inevitable." The billionaire entrepreneur likened the decline of traditional internal combustion engines to the historical transition from horse-drawn transport to automobiles.

 

Musk, the CEO of Tesla, stated that the primary challenge once holding back electric vehicles—their range—has now been resolved. Addressing investor concerns over Trump’s intent to reverse Joe Biden’s electric vehicle policies, Musk remained firm in his confidence. “At this point, I think that sustainable transport is inevitable,” he said.

 

“I’m highly confident that all transport will be autonomous electric, including aircraft, and that it’s simply – it can’t be stopped any more than one could have stopped the advent of the external combustion engine, steam engine, or one could have stopped the advent of the internal combustion engine.”

 

Drawing a parallel to the past, he added: “Like even if you’ve been the biggest horse advocate on Earth, like ‘horses are the way, not these newfangled car automobiles,’ you can’t stop the advent of the automobile. It’s going to happen. And you can’t stop the advent of electric cars. It’s going to happen. The only thing holding back electric cars was range, and that is a solved problem.”

 

 

Musk’s stance has raised questions about his support for Trump, given concerns that the former president’s opposition to electric vehicle mandates and subsidies could negatively impact Tesla’s sales. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order revoking Biden’s plan for 50% of all car sales to be electric by 2030. He also called for the elimination of tax credits that effectively provided a $7,500 (£6,000) subsidy on new electric cars, though doing so may require legislative approval from Congress.

 

Despite this, Musk has publicly opposed such subsidies, arguing that removing them would primarily benefit Tesla. The company is widely considered to be in a stronger position than many of its competitors, which have made slower progress in the electric vehicle sector.

 

Tesla’s long-term advantage, according to Musk, lies not just in its electric vehicle technology but in its advancements in self-driving capabilities. “There is a path where Tesla is worth more than the next top five companies combined ... and that is overwhelmingly due to autonomous vehicles and autonomous humanoid robots,” he told investors.

 

However, Tesla faced a slight decline in sales in 2024 as the electric vehicle boom showed signs of slowing. In the U.S., electric vehicle sales increased by just 7.3% last year to 1.3 million, accounting for 8.1% of total car sales—only a marginal increase from 7.8% in 2023.

 

Tesla’s chief financial officer, Vaibhav Taneja, acknowledged that tariffs could impact the company’s profitability. Nevertheless, he pointed out that Tesla has made strides in improving manufacturing efficiency, which has helped lower production costs and keep the company in a strong competitive position.

 

Based on a report by Daily Telegraph 2025-02-01