Tesla Layoffs

[George K]

Tesla's laying off 10% of its workforce - about 14,000 people.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/13/ev-euphoria-is-dead-automakers-trumpet-consumer-choice-in-us.html

The buzz around electric vehicles is wearing off.

For years, the automotive industry has been in a state of EV euphoria. Automakers trotted out optimistic sales forecasts for electric models and announced ambitious targets for EV growth. Wall Street boosted valuations for legacy automakers and startup entrants alike, based in part on their visions for an EV future.

Now the hype is dwindling, and companies are again cheering consumer choice. Automakers from Ford Motor and General Motors to Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin are scaling back or delaying their electric vehicle plans.

Even U.S. EV leader Tesla, which is estimated to have accounted for 55% of EV sales in the country in 2023, is bracing for what “may be a notably lower” rate of growth, CEO Elon Musk said in late January.

The broad return to a more mixed offering of vehicles — with lineups of gas-powered vehicles alongside hybrids and fully-electric options — still assumes an all-electric future, eventually, but at a much slower pace of adoption than previously expected.

“What we saw in ’21 and ’22 was a temporary market spike where the demand for EVs really took off,” said Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer for Ford’s EV unit, during a recent interview with CNBC. “It’s still growing but not nearly at the rate we thought it might have in ’21, ’22.”

[Copper]

There is a limited number of people willing to spend that much on an EV that doesn't do what a non-EV will do.

[Doctor Phibes]

I never really understood the appeal of the Tesla. I know a couple of people who drive them, and I still don't get it. If I was going to blow 75K plus on a car, I'd want something a bit, well, nicer, and if I was going to blow 75K on virtue signalling I'd give it to starving children or stray cats or something.

[Mik]

They are fun to drive. You push the accelerator down and you’ll pull some Gs. One thing I can’t stand is a car that can’t get out of its own way.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Mik said in Tesla Layoffs:

They are fun to drive. You push the accelerator down and you’ll pull some Gs. One thing I can’t stand is a car that can’t get out of its own way.

Well OK, but wouldn't you prefer a sporty car that is a bit more sporty, and takes 5 minutes to fill with gas?

If I'm going to have a mid-life crisis, I'm going to have it in a Corvette. At least, I would if I didn't have two kids in college and a fixer-upper to fixer-up.

[George K]

@Doctor-Phibes said in Tesla Layoffs:

If I'm going to have a mid-life crisis, I'm going to have it in a Corvette.

I drove a Corvette back in 2014.

It was loud, fast, and surprisingly easy to drive. I never thought it would kill me.

[Doctor Phibes]

@George-K said in Tesla Layoffs:

It was loud, fast, and surprisingly easy to drive. I never thought it would kill me.

That's the other thing. I don't want a car that drives itself. And I definitely don't want a car that drives itself but can't actually be trusted to drive itself. If I wanted that experience I'd let my kids drive me to work.

[taiwan_girl]

https://gizmodo.com/tesla-elon-musk-evs-cybertruck-satellite-1851529710

Sherwood News used satellite imagery to compare parking lots of unsold Tesla stockpiles in October 2023 versus five months later in March 2024. The images show much fuller parking lots in March versus October. This confirms what Tesla’s Q1 earnings in April said; the company is producing significantly more cars than it’s selling. Tesla’s deliveries declined 8.5% from last year, and the company produced nearly 47,000 more cars than it sold. This was the first decline in sales since 2020 when the covid-19 pandemic forced Tesla to shutter production.