Former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is back in the spotlight with statements destined to spark controversy. In an interview with French daily Les Echos, the Portuguese manager openly criticized Elon Musk, arguing that he now dedicates too little time to Tesla, a company he considers overvalued and now surpassed by Chinese giant BYD.
Carlos Tavares attacks Elon Musk: ‘Tesla is overvalued, BYD has already surpassed it’
According to Tavares, BYD has reached a level of production efficiency and cost competitiveness that consolidates its leadership position in the global electric car market, while Tesla is losing momentum. “BYD builds better and with lower costs,” he stated, emphasizing how the Chinese automaker today represents the new reference point for the EV industry.
The former executive, who over the years led brands like Peugeot, Fiat and Jeep before leaving Stellantis in 2024, added that Musk could soon abandon automotive to focus on his other projects. “We cannot rule out that one day he decides to leave the automotive industry to dedicate himself to humanoid robots, SpaceX or artificial intelligence,” Tavares stated, on the occasion of presenting his new memoir.
The words come at a delicate moment for Tesla, engaged in convincing shareholders to approve a mega compensation package for Musk, which could be worth shares for over $1 trillion upon reaching certain capitalization and performance targets.
Tavares, however, doubts those goals are realistic: “Tesla’s valuation is simply stratospheric,” he explained. “The loss of value will be colossal. I’m not sure Tesla will still exist in ten years. It’s an innovative brand, but it will be beaten by BYD’s efficiency.”
No official response has yet arrived from Tesla and Elon Musk to the former Stellantis CEO’s statements, who with this interview seems to have wanted to launch a direct provocation not only to Musk, but to the entire Western electric car world.
