Should Tesla be Worried About General Motors?
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Should Tesla be Worried About General Motors?
March 20, 2026 — 07:31 am EDT
Written by
Matt Frankel for
The Motley Fool->
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Key Points
- General Motors has become the number two seller of EVs in the United States.
- Tesla has several other business focuses, all of which could become more popular than its EV sales.
- General Motors has significant EV potential, but Tesla investors shouldn't see it as a threat.
- 10 stocks we like better than General Motors ›
It wasn't long ago that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) was the dominant leader in electric vehicles, but that has changed in recent years. It still has the top market share in the United States, but there's far more competition today, and some competitors are gaining ground.
One that could be particularly interesting to watch is General Motors (NYSE: GM), which has quietly become the second-largest EV seller in the United States. Is this a threat to Tesla and its investors, or has Tesla simply become so much more than an automaker that it can thrive even if GM continues to grow its electric vehicle sales?
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General Motors is a major player in EVs
On one hand, massive automaker General Motors has been pumping the brakes a bit on its EV ambitions, recently unwinding some EV investments and changing plans to use some EV production capacity for gas-powered trucks and SUVs.
On the other hand, General Motors is already a serious player in the EV world. It is now the clear number two in U.S. EV sales and posted 48% year-over-year growth in full-year 2025 electric vehicle sales. In fact, GM's Sierra EV posted a 32% year-over-year increase in sales in the fourth quarter, despite tax incentives having ended. The Chevy Equinox EV is the best-selling EV in the United States that isn't made by Tesla. And Cadillac has become the number one luxury EV brand in the U.S., a category long owned by Tesla.
Although GM is slowing its electric vehicle strategy in the near term, management has made clear that EVs remain the company's future. CEO Mary Barra recently said that an EV-centered strategy remains the endgame for GM. It may just take a little longer than expected to get there.
Should Tesla investors be worried about General Motors?
Ask any dedicated Tesla investor why they own the stock, and you'll almost never hear an answer related to selling cars. Tesla doesn't want to be just an automaker, and recent actions show where CEO Elon Musk's priorities lie. In fact, there are at least three components of Tesla's business that could drive the company's sales and profits much higher in the years to come.
- Energy: Tesla's energy generation and storage business is not only growing rapidly (27% revenue growth last year), but it is one of the more profitable parts of the business. With massive demand for power and scalable battery solutions, this part of Tesla could continue to grow rapidly.
- Robotaxis: Tesla is set to start production of its Cybercab in April, and Elon Musk has given some ambitious projections for the company's robotaxi rollout. Although this business could take longer than expected to scale -- Musk has a long history of setting unrealistic timetables -- over time, the revenue opportunity could be far greater (and higher-margin) than that of car sales.
- Optimus: Tesla recently announced that it will end production of the Model S sedan and will convert its Fremont plant into a humanoid robot production facility. The company aims to produce the first examples by the end of this year.
Both could be winners
Here's the bottom line. General Motors' EV business is the real deal. Its products are impressive, and it has a loyal brand following that gives it a competitive advantage, and it offers EVs in a wide range of price points.
However, Tesla investors don't really need to care. This is not an apples-to-apples comparison. At this point, EV sales could be the fourth most important factor in the company's future. It doesn't command a trillion-dollar valuation because of what investors believe Cybertruck sales will be -- rather, it's the potential of its other business lines that have investors so optimistic.
The short answer is that GM could continue to take market share from Tesla in the EV space, and it could be a big winner if it scales its EV business while maintaining or even growing margins. But Tesla could also be a big winner, even if it continues to lose EV market