Cathie Wood Says EVs Will Outprice Gas Cars Within 3 Years, Citing China's Rapid Growth

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood predicts that electric vehicles will undercut gasoline-powered cars economically within three years, citing China’s explosive growth in electric vehicles as a roadmap for the U.S. market transformation.

What Happened: Wood wrote on X that “China is pointing the way forward for EV sales in the U.S. Why? Economics, as usual. EVs costs and prices will drop well below those for ‘like-for-like’ gas-powered vehicles during the next three years.”

Her comments responded to climate investor Ramez Naam‘s post, highlighting that China now sells more EVs annually than the U.S. sells total vehicles of all types.

BloombergNEF data shows China’s EV sales surged from near zero in 2016 to an estimated 18 million units by 2026, while U.S. total vehicle sales remain relatively flat at 16 million.

Why It Matters: The projection comes as Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk acknowledged rival automakers selling EVs at massive losses pose competitive challenges. “Other companies dumping EVs at massive negative gross margin is a problem, but not one that will last,” Musk said in August.

The competitive landscape intensifies with Amazon.com Inc. AMZN founder Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto unveiling a $20,000 modular EV pickup truck expected by late 2026. The vehicle aims to fill the affordable EV gap that established manufacturers have yet to address.