The Chevy Silverado EV is one of the best electric trucks ever built, so why is nobody buying it

GM sold roughly 14,000 Chevrolet Silverado EVs in the U.S. and Canada last year, far below the petrol Silverado, which moves more than 10x that volume in a single quarter. The article highlights a large demand gap between the EV truck and its internal-combustion counterpart, implying slower-than-expected EV traction.

Analysis

GM’s issue here is not product perception; it is scale economics. A pickup EV that stays niche forces the company to spend like an EV player while earning like an ICE incumbent, which delays gross-margin inflection and makes factory underabsorption more visible in upcoming quarters. The core gas truck remains the cash engine, but that also means every dollar diverted to EV support has a higher opportunity cost than the street usually models.

Second-order, the weaker read-through is for the EV truck supply chain rather than GM alone: battery pack, charging, and dedicated-platform suppliers lose order momentum before the OEM shows a large top-line hit. Over the next 1-3 months, the key catalyst is whether GM leans more on rebates/incentives to defend share; over 6-18 months, repeated volume disappointment raises the odds of slower EV capex or a reset in launch pacing.

Contrarian view: the market may be overweighting a low-volume halo product relative to the economics of GM’s profitable ICE portfolio. If management keeps EV losses contained and avoids inventory buildup, this is more of a patience signal than a structural thesis break. The thesis is falsified by rising rebates, higher dealer stock, or a wider EV margin loss next earnings season.

Key Decisions for Investors

• No immediate outright short in GM on this article alone; wait for the next earnings print. If management signals incentive spend rising or EV capex staying elevated despite flat volume, initiate a 3-6 month GM put spread.
• Use any EV-sector rally to trim exposure to charging/battery names such as CHPT or ALB as secondary read-through shorts; the setup is slower adoption, but the signal is not strong enough for an aggressive standalone position.
• Relative-value watch: underweight GM versus F only if GM starts discounting EV trucks while Ford’s ICE truck margins remain intact; otherwise stay neutral and let the next quarterly data decide.