{"id":68947,"date":"2026-01-29T17:24:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T20:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotive.einnews.com\/article\/887700421"},"modified":"2026-01-29T17:24:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T20:24:55","slug":"tesla-is-committing-automotive-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/01\/29\/tesla-is-committing-automotive-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla is committing automotive suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"img-border featured-image\"> <img data-opt-id=758893364  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" fifu-data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=75&resize=75&ssl=1 75w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=100&resize=100&ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=150&resize=150&ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=240&resize=240&ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=320&resize=320&ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=500&resize=500&ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=640&resize=640&ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=800&resize=800&ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=1024&resize=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=1280&resize=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1&w=1600&resize=1600&ssl=1 1600w\" width=\"1600\" height=\"788\" fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/01\/Tesla-automotive-suicide.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600&ssl=1\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" alt=\"Tesla automotive suicide\"> <\/figure>\n<p>Tesla\u2019s Q4 2025 earnings call made one thing painfully clear: the company is no longer interested in being an automaker.<\/p>\n<p>In a single call, Tesla announced it\u2019s killing the Model S and Model X, has no plans for new mass-market models, and is pivoting entirely to \u201ctransportation as a service.\u201d The company that revolutionized the auto industry is walking away from it, not because it failed, but because Elon Musk got bored and found new toys.<\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"more-453390\"><\/span> <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-happened-to-tesla-today\">What happened to Tesla today<\/h2>\n<p>When asked if Tesla has plans to launch new models to address different price segments, VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy gave a telling response:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cYou have to start thinking about us as moving to providing <strong>transportation as a service<\/strong> more than the total addressable market for the purchased vehicles alone..\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Read that again. Tesla\u2019s head of vehicle engineering is telling you to stop thinking of Tesla as a company that sells cars.<\/p>\n<p>\t<span class=\"outbrain-ad-label\">Advertisement &#8211; scroll for more content<\/span> <\/p>\n<p>Musk doubled down:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI really think long-term, the only vehicles that we\u2019ll make will be autonomous vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He predicted that \u201cprobably less than 5% of miles driven will be where somebody\u2019s actually driving the car themselves in the future, maybe as low as 1%.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And then came the killing blow: Model S and Model X production ends next quarter. The Fremont line will be converted to manufacture Optimus robots instead.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, in its latest 10k SEC filing, Tesla officially updated its mission to \u201cbuilding a world of amazing abundance\u201d \u2013 whatever that means.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-tesla-is-left-with\">What Tesla is left with<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s count Tesla\u2019s current vehicle lineup:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Model 3<\/strong> \u2014 Successful (but in decline)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Model Y<\/strong> \u2014 Successful (but in decline)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Model S<\/strong> \u2014 Being killed<\/li>\n<li><strong>Model X<\/strong> \u2014 Being killed<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cybertruck<\/strong> \u2014 Commercial failure, selling ~20-25k\/year against 250k capacity<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tesla Semi<\/strong> \u2014 Still not in volume production after years of delays<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That leaves Tesla with exactly two successful vehicle models. Two. And there are both in decline.<\/p>\n<p>And instead of building on that success, expanding into new segments, addressing affordability, competing with the flood of new EVs from legacy automakers and Chinese competitors, Tesla is walking away.<\/p>\n<p>The $25,000 Tesla that Musk promised for years? Scrapped.<\/p>\n<p>New models to compete with the likes of the Hyundai, Lucid, Rivian, or the wave of affordable Chinese EVs? Not coming.<\/p>\n<p>Tesla\u2019s answer to everything is now the same: wait for robotaxis.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-false-choice\">The false choice<\/h2>\n<p>Here\u2019s what makes this so frustrating: Tesla didn\u2019t have to choose.<\/p>\n<p>The company could have spun off its AI and robotics efforts into a separate entity, call it Tesla AI or whatever, while keeping Tesla, the automaker, focused on what it does best: building and selling great electric vehicles and accelerating the industry\u2019s transition to electric transport.<\/p>\n<p>Or it could have done the reverse: spin off the automotive business and let Musk pursue his AI dreams with the parent company. Either way, there was no point in letting great EV programs die.<\/p>\n<p>Tesla could have continued to invest in electric vehicles, leverage its expertise in batteries and power electronics, to accelerate EV adoption and stationary energy storage deployment, and could have licensed \u201cTesla AI\u2019s\u201d technology to integrate it into its vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Tesla is letting a highly successful automaker wither so it can chase autonomous robots and robotaxis that may or may not work, may or may not get regulatory approval, and may or may not find a market.<\/p>\n<p>This is a company that delivered 1.6 million vehicles last year. That has a global Supercharger network. That has brand recognition any automaker would kill for (up until last year). And it\u2019s being sacrificed on the altar of Musk\u2019s next obsession.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-numbers-don-t-lie\">The numbers don\u2019t lie<\/h2>\n<p>Tesla\u2019s automotive revenue declined 10% in 2025. Deliveries fell 9%. The company lost its crown as the world\u2019s largest EV maker to BYD.<\/p>\n<p>The response to these problems? Not to fix them by giving more love to its EV programs, but to abandon the business entirely.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of killing Model S and Model X, Tesla could have brought the good things it did with the Cybertruck, such as drive-by-wire and its 800V powertrain, to its programs, but it didn\u2019t bother.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the \u201cfuture\u201d Tesla is betting on looks like this:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Robotaxi fleet:<\/strong> About 30-60 vehicles actually operating in Austin, despite claims of \u201cwell over 500\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Optimus robots:<\/strong> Zero doing useful work in factories, by Musk\u2019s own admission<\/li>\n<li><strong>CyberCab:<\/strong> About to go into production without a steering wheel while Tesla still hasn\u2019t solved autonom<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tesla is abandoning a business that generated $80 billion in automotive revenue and almost $15 billion in profits at its peak for ventures that currently generate essentially nothing.<\/p>\n<p>During the earnings call, the company announced it will spend a record $20 billion in capital expenditure in 2026, and most of it will go into its robotaxi and humanoid robots, as well as their supporting infrastructure, especially training compute.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Tesla generated less than $6 billion in net income (non-GAAP) in 2025 \u2013 down 26% from last year and more than 50% from its peak a few years ago.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-electrek-s-take\">Electrek\u2019s Take<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019ve covered Tesla for over a decade. I watched this company prove that electric vehicles could be desirable, that they could be profitable, that they could compete with and beat the best that legacy automakers had to offer.<\/p>\n<p>And now I\u2019m watching it commit suicide.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a version of this story where Tesla remains the dominant EV maker while also pursuing AI and autonomy. Where the company launches affordable models to compete with Chinese EVs. Where it expands into new segments. Where it uses its manufacturing expertise and brand power to actually grow its automotive business, and push the industry forward in the process, especially in the US, where automakers are falling behind the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, we get Lars Moravy telling us to think of Tesla as a \u201ctransportation as a service\u201d company. We get Musk saying the only vehicles Tesla will make are autonomous ones. We get the Model S and X killed to make room for robots that don\u2019t work yet.<\/p>\n<p>Tesla could have had both. It chose to have one, and that could lead to neither.<\/p>\n<p>This is Musk joining the popular \u201cas a service\u201d trend of the elite, who don\u2019t want people to own anything and instead have them \u201csubscribe\u201d to as many things as possible. It\u2019s a depressing future. <\/p>\n<p>RIP Tesla the automaker. You didn\u2019t have to die.<\/p>\n<div class=\"google-preferred-source-badge\"> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/electrek.co\" aria-label=\"Add Electrek as a preferred source on Google\"> <img data-opt-id=758893364  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" fifu-data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png?ssl=1&w=75&resize=75&ssl=1 75w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png?ssl=1&w=100&resize=100&ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/electrek.co\/wp-content\/themes\/ninetofive\/dist\/images\/google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png?ssl=1&w=150&resize=150&ssl=1 150w, 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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8230; of new EVs from legacy <span class=\"match\">automakers<\/span> and Chinese competitors, Tesla &#8230; , while keeping Tesla, the <span class=\"match\">automaker<\/span>, focused on what it does &#8230; that generated $80 billion in <span class=\"match\">automotive<\/span> revenue and almost $15 &#8230; especially in the US, where <span class=\"match\">automakers<\/span> are falling behind the rest &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}