Also: Election talk at work, China's growth target, Bezos overtakes Musk. 
Before Carlos Ghosn gained notoriety for dramatically escaping house arrest in Japan in an audio equipment box, accused by Nissan of underreporting compensation and other serious charges as CEO, he was widely regarded as one of the most innovative leaders in the auto industry. (Here’s an interview Alan Murray did when Ghosn was on top back in 2012, and one I did with Ghosn in 2023 when he was an international fugitive in Lebanon, filing a $1.1 billion lawsuit against Nissan for allegedly damaging his finances and reputation on trumped-up charges.)
Ghosn is still a fugitive in Lebanon, but he’s also still credited with rescuing Renault from near bankruptcy and then doing the same at Nissan through a powerful alliance that later included Mitsubishi Motors. What’s less known is how Ghosn also helped launch the EV revolution as a pioneer in developing the electric car. In 2010, when rivals were dipping their toes in the market and Tesla was a money-losing manufacturer trading at $17 a share, Ghosn released the first mass-produced electric vehicle with the Nissan LEAF.
So I was curious to ask Ghosn about his views on the current state of the industry and recent news that Apple is getting out of the EV business. Unlike Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, who says he was shocked by Apple’s decision to pull out of the market, Ghosn says he was not surprised.
“I don’t think they stopped because of technical problems—they have the ability to attract anyone with their resources and brand—but because of value,” says Ghosn. “These guys are used to high-margin, huge-return businesses, and I don’t think the value proposition was there.”
Ghosn recalls speaking with executives who launched Apple’s bid to develop an autonomous electric vehicle in 2014. “I was convinced that they had in mind to do something totally unique,” he says. “I never thought they wanted to be a carmaker but create value around connectivity.”
The brand that most impresses him in the EV space right now is China’s BYD, which he thinks is fast gaining on German and U.S. competitors in terms of quality. As for Nissan, which may now partner with Fisker on EVs (and remains Ghosn’s nemesis): “What a disaster.”
Such animosity is no surprise. As Nissan’s charges pile up, Ghosn insists that he did nothing wrong. He faces arrest in France and Japan if he leaves Lebanon. While it’s hard to asses the veracity of the charges against Ghosn without a trial, the process by which he was charged and held for more than 100 days in an unheated jail cell does feel, as the UN Human Rights Council put it, “arbitrary and unlawful.”
Unless Ghosn leaves Lebanon to face his day in court, he might never clear his name. Of his lawsuit against Nissan, he says, “little by little, things are moving along.” A complicated and sad state of affairs for a man could have once retired at the top of his game.
Diane Brady
@dianebrady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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How do you talk about the election at work?
Business leaders need to come up with a consistent policy on handling political debates and conversations in the workplace—and do so quickly, experts say. Some suggestions: Prepare middle managers to handle tough conversations, think twice before saying something, and start setting guidelines on what employees can post on social media. But leaders shouldn’t try to ban political speech altogether, as legal regimes increasingly constrain blanket bans on political discussion. Fortune
China’s growth target
Beijing set a target of "around 5%" growth for the Chinese economy in 2024, the same target it set last year even as China’s economy slows down under the weight of a real estate crisis and weak consumer spending. Beijing will issue 1 trillion yuan ($138.9 billion) in “ultra-long” treasury bonds, which officials say will be used to fund projects that align with their national priorities. But there was no indication of how China might bolster the country’s social safety net, or whether officials will consider direct stimulus to consumers. The New York Times
The world’s newest richest person
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos now has the world’s largest fortune, overtaking Elon Musk. Bezos is worth $200.3 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires list; Musk is worth $197.7 billion. The Tesla CEO’s net worth dropped after a 7.2% plunge in Tesla shares on Monday, following the release of data revealing the EV maker sold just 60,365 cars in China in February, the lowest total since December 2022. Bloomberg
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The Shift from Mass to Micro Diverse consumer profiles and a fragmented tech-driven market drive the transition from supply-focused to demand-driven model. The pivot marks a move from mass-market approaches to strategies that prioritize relevance for specific consumer groups. Read more.
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