Hyperdrive
Barra Makes Case For GM to Lead the Future of Cars, But the Market Isn’t Buying
- Executives packed 4-hour pitch with promises on EVs, autonomy
- Post-earnings stock gains faded as talk turned to Tesla’s turf
Mary Barra
Photographer: Jeff Kowalsky/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
General Motors Co. started off Wednesday by saying it can sustain profit even as the global car market slumps. That briefly buoyed investors, who pushed shares up about 3% in early trading.
Then came the hard part: getting the market to buy in to GM’s case that it’s making a total transformation from car company to technology leader. Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra’s team spent the next four hours at GM’s Capital Markets Day event making a full-throated pitch that it’s prepared for the electric, self-driving era.