, Columnist
Elon Musk Has a Serious Rival: the TechnoKaiser
Herbert Diess’s electric-vehicle strategy might just work for Volkswagen.
An electric performance.
Photo: Bloomberg
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Volkswagen AG’s boss Herbert Diess is realistic about the threat posed by software-savvy and richly valued rivals such as Tesla Inc., but he’s adamant that VW can prevail. On current form, he may be right.
The German car giant has added almost 45 billion euros ($53.5 billion) of market value so far this year and its shares are at their highest since 2015, when the diesel emissions scandal abruptly steered the company down a dark road. VW’s more widely traded preferred shares have climbed 36% since the start of January, far outstripping Tesla — which has declined slightly since then, having risen more than 700% in 2020.