EVs are a fading fad. Hybrids? Oh, THOSE might make good sense! Batteries are still a HUGE issue, though–particularly the child slave labor that goes into making them.
The evidence is rolling in fast. Earlier this month, Hertz, which purchased 100,000 Teslas to great fanfare in 2021, executed a squealing 180-degree turn and began dumping one-third of its EV fleet, taking a $245 million charge against its earnings. Its pledge to buy 175,000 EVs from GM will likely go up in smoke, too.
… EV doubters like Toyota— which instead bet on hybrids — now look prescient. Over the past year, Toyota’s share price outperformed GM’s by 40%. After taking flak from EV enthusiasts and Wall Street analysts, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda declared last October that people are “finally seeing reality.”