The U.S. auto industry faces a structural crisis that cannot be explained away by simply citing foreign competition as a scapegoat. Decades of prioritizing SUVs and pickup trucks left Detroit unprepared for the global pivot to smaller, more efficient vehicles before an even more revolutionary turn towards electrification that paves ways towards future intelligent driving. While Tesla demonstrates that American firms can succeed in electrification, its success is not replicable at scale given its unique global supply chain combination that is no longer feasible in an era of retreat from globalization.