Detroit, MI
Wall Street analysts say Elon Musk is the clear auto tariff winner: 'Tesla wins, Detroit bleeds'
New trucks crowd a parking lot at the GM assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, on Sept. 24, 2019.
Chris Helgren | Reuters
Several analysts on Wall Street see a clear winner emerging from President Donald Trump’s new auto tariff policy: Tesla.
Trump announced on Wednesday that all cars not made in the U.S. would be slapped with a 25% tariff beginning next week. The news sent shares of major American car producers in diverging directions in Thursday’s trading as Wall Street analyzed who would be most and least hurt by the policy change.
So far, multiple analysts see Elon Musk’s electric vehicle giant as a relative beneficiary given its domestic production. The stock rose more than 5%.
Put simply: “Tesla wins, Detroit bleeds,” wrote Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska in a Thursday note to clients.
Tesla: ‘Clear structural winner’
Roeska called Tesla the “clear structural winner” of the policy, adding that it has a localized market share and is “better insulated” from trade risk. On the other hand, he said Ford and General Motors could see declines of up to 30% in earnings before interest and taxes this year.
“For everyone else, this is a margin reset and real drag on near-term earnings power,” he said of companies besides Tesla.
UBS analyst Joseph Spak noted both Tesla and competitor Rivian could “fare better” with 100% of production in the U.S. Rivian shares also were nearly 5% higher Thursday.
Tesla, 1-day
But for others in the industry, Spak said there will “clearly be some pain” as tariffs take effect.
TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli said Tesla’s substantial domestic sourcing helps make the company a “relative winner.” This is especially true for Tesla’s Model Y, which competes in the midsize crossover segment, a category that will now see close to half of all vehicles hit with levies. Presumably, a portion of the tariffs is likely to be passed on to consumers, making these vehicles more pricey.
Despite Thursday’s gains, Tesla shares have tumbled around 30% this year. Some of the declines have been attributed to political backlash against Musk, who is a key aid to Trump and acts as the face of the president’s government efficiency initiative.
As Tesla shares declined, Trump said earlier this month that he would purchase a Tesla in a show of support for Musk.
But Trump said the billionaire entrepreneur did not advise on auto tariffs because of a potential conflict of interest. Musk posted on his social media platform X that his company was not immune to effects from the policy.
“Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here,” Musk wrote. “The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant.”
Still, Wall Street expects Tesla stock to rebound ahead, with most analysts polled by LSEG having a buy rating and an average price target suggesting about 18% in upside.
A ‘worst case’ scenario?
TD Cowen’s Michaeli called Trump’s announcement “close to the worst case outcome” compared with recent expectations for the policy.
He expects a “significant” initial impact to the Detroit Big Three. Based on policy as it is currently understood, he said Ford should be the least exposed in the group, while Stellantis may be the most exposed.
UBS’ Spak said to expect automakers to raise prices as a result. For Ford and General Motors, he estimated the average price tag could rise between $4,000 and $5,000 if 100% of the cost increase is mitigated.
Analysts pointed out that not every legacy automaker would be hit equally. Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu, for instance, listed Ford alongside Tesla in the “most shielded” bucket.
There are also some points of disagreement on which firms would feel the most pressure. Despite Michaeli saying Stellantis would be most exposed, Bernstein’s Roeska said the company should show “relative resilience” compared with other Detroit Big Three carmakers.
Ford’s stock declined 3%, while GM shares shed nearly 8%. Stellantis stock fell more than 2%.
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Detroit, MI
Report: Lions tender K Jake Bates ERFA offer
The Detroit Lions are starting to take care of their own ahead of free agency, and it begins with one of the easier decisions to make. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions have tendered kicker Jake Bates an exclusive rights free agent offer. What that means is Bates now has a one-year contract offer at the minimum salary ($1,075,000 for Bates). He can choose to sign it or sit out the season.
The reason the Lions can offer this ERFA tender is because Bates’ contract is expiring after just two accrued seasons in the NFL. All players with fewer than three years of experience who are on expiring contracts could be offered these ERFA tenders. In fact, the Lions did so with three other ERFAs earlier this offseason, all of whom already signed the deals: OL Michael Niese, RB Jacob Saylors, and CB Nick Whiteside.
Bates is coming off a season where he took a step back after an outstanding 2024. After making 89.7% of his field goals in his first year with the Lions, Bates slid back to just 79.4% accuracy. That said, five of his seven misses all season were from 50+ yards, and he was a perfect 14-of-14 from 39 yards or shorter. Additionally, he increased his extra point accuracy from 95.5% to 96.4%. He also steadily improved at the new NFL kickoff, which requires a lot more precision from kickers to boot the ball as close to the goal line without going into the end zone.
It’s unclear if the Lions intend on bringing in competition for Bates this offseason, but special teams coordinator Dave Fipp made it abundantly clear all last season that they value Bates, despite some struggles in 2025.
“Clearly, we have a very, very good player,” Fipp said in December. “If you put him on the streets, there would be a bunch of teams claiming him right away. And the truth is, we’d have a really hard time finding a guy even near the same player as him.”
Detroit, MI
Detroit Pistons’ loss to Cavs shows weaknesses before playoffs
What questions have Pistons answered this season?
Friend of the pod Laz Jackson walks through what the Detroit Pistons have proved of themselves this year.
CLEVELAND – In just five days, the Detroit Pistons faced the Cleveland Cavaliers twice.
They split the games to finish their season series against the Central Division rivals, but with a potential reunion looming in the second round of the NBA playoffs, the Pistons came away from both games unsatisfied.
On Friday, it was the Pistons needing overtime to overcome a Cavaliers team missing James Harden and Donovan Mitchell at Little Caesars Arena. On Tuesday, March 3, in Cleveland, however – with Harden back in the lineup – the Pistons struggled in the areas they usually thrive, for a 113-109 loss.
The Pistons’ first loss on the road since Jan. 29 didn’t feature their usual fire for much of the night.
“I’m frustrated with the effort level, the attention to detail that we played on that end of the floor,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “The times and opportunities where we did do the right thing, did get stops, we let people outwork us to come up with offensive rebounds. We can’t afford to not play at maximum effort. That’s been our superpower all year long and, tonight, I felt like there were times where we were outworked. If we’re outworked, this isn’t going to be the results that we want.”
The Pistons work at being the league’s most disruptive team via turnovers has given them a top-three defensive rating. They force turnovers on 17.2% of possessions – best in the NBA –and only trail the Houston Rockets in offensive rebounding percentage. They also lead the league in steals and blocks per game. Getting out in transition and capitalizing on second-chance opportunities has created an above-average offense despite struggles on 3-point shooting.
For three quarters against the Cavaliers, little of that materialized – as least until the Pistons grabbed seven steals in the final period (after just two in the first three). Overall, the Pistons were beat on the offensive glass (11-10), mustered just 10 fastbreak points (their lowest total since Jan. 27) and picked up 11 second-chance points (their least since Feb. 6).
It was, in all, a lackadaisical defensive performance, with the Pistons repeatedly losing shooters behind the arc as the Cavs knocked down 17 3-pointers – eight more than the Pistons.
“Obviously they’re a good team, but we haven’t been playing to our standard on that side of the ball,” Pistons wing Javonte Green said. “Coach talked about the effort we need to bring every game. We just need to play harder. We can’t get outworked on offensive rebounds and 50-50 balls, that’s our identity. I feel like we needed to pick up that slack.”
The Pistons also were hurt by a poor shooting performance by Cade Cunningham; he finished with 10 points and 14 assists but shot 4-for-16. Cleveland threw multiple defenders at him all night, and he obliged by passing the ball and setting up his teammates. It led to a big second half for Tobias Harris, who scored all 19 of his points in the last two quarters.
But it wasn’t enough.
“On the defensive end we just couldn’t put up a wall, couldn’t get a stand going,” Cunningham said. “Personally, I had a lot of bad closeouts; just off the ball, I didn’t feel sharp. Just gotta clean all that stuff up.”
With 22 games remaining, the Pistons are focused on cleaning up the margins so they’ll be ready for postseason play. These two games against the Cavaliers have given them a list of areas to clean up.
Friday, they needed an extra period to win after rallying from a late nine-point deficit despite losing Cunningham late after he fouled out with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Jalen Duren and Daniss Jenkins stepped up in overtime after Duncan Robinson also fouled out.
Mostly, the Cavaliers have proven they can pounce during soft stretches on defense. Thursday brings another rematch with a contender, as the Pistons wrap up a three-game road trip against the San Antonio Spurs (another opponent from last week).
“We didn’t play our best basketball the other night,” Bickerstaff said of the Cavaliers’ game on Feb. 27. “Give our guys credit because we played 53 minutes and were able to pull it out in some adverse conditions. Cade fouls out, Duncan fouls out, our guys still figure out a way to get it done.
“We need to be better. We need to be better defensively, we need to impose ourselves on the game a little bit more than we did last game. I thought the last two quarters of the Orlando game [on Sunday] were the best quarters we’ve played defensively since New York [on Feb. 19]. I hope, and told our guys, that we can continue to build off that, because that’s where it always starts for us. You can tell the tone by how we are defensively and how we’re getting after it.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.
[ MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube. ]
Next up: Spurs
Matchup: Pistons (45-15) at San Antonio (44-17).
Tipoff: 8 p.m. Thursday, March 5; Frost Bank Center, San Antonio.
TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).
Detroit, MI
Police search for suspect, accomplice after teen injured in shooting outside Detroit school gym
The Detroit Police Department is searching for a suspect and an accomplice in connection with a shooting last week that injured a teen outside a school gym.
The shooting happened in the 3400 block of St. Aubin, the same area where the Detroit Edison Public School Academy’s Early College of Excellence is located. Police say that at about 8:27 p.m. on Feb. 27, there was an altercation inside the gym that continued outside.
Police say the suspect allegedly fired multiple shots at the victim, striking him. The teen was taken to a hospital for treatment. His current condition is unknown.
Police say the accomplice who was with the suspect was also armed.
Anyone with information is asked to call DPD’s seventh precinct at 313-596-5740, Crime Stoppers at 800-Speak Up or DetroitRewards.tv.
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