Tesla accounted for 55% of all U.S. EV sales last year. Tesla’s closest competitor last year was Ford, which accounted for just 6% of the U.S. EV market, and as I noted in February, FoMoCo lost nearly $65,000 for each of the 72,000 EVs it sold last year. Meanwhile, EV maker Rivian lost a whopping $107,000 for every vehicle it sold. (Rivian’s stock has fallen by more than half this year.)
Put simply, Tesla is the bellwether for the EV business, and it’s in trouble. Last week, the company announced it was laying off more than 10%, or about 14,000, of its employees. The move comes after a quarter during which the company missed delivery expectations and just before it reveals its quarterly profits on Tuesday. Here’s what Wired wrote last Thursday about Tesla’s situation: “Demand is dropping for electric cars in the U.S. and Europe, just as competition in Chinaintensifies and workers revolt in Europe. Investors are worried.” Wired continued, saying Tesla is contending with:
Ongoing worker strikes in Sweden, and even sabotage by German climate activists. Earlier this month, the company warned investors to expect a lower rate of growth this year, blaming interest rate hikes for dampening demand… Shareholders will get a chance to give their blessing at a vote in June, when they will be asked to ratify Musk’s $50 billion pay package and approve the company’s move to Texas.
The bad news continued on Friday when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered the company to recall nearly all of the Edsels, oops, I mean all of the Cybertrucks, it has produced at its factory here in Austin. About 3,900 Cybertrucks must be repaired because an accelerator pedal could get stuck in the down position.
Tesla’s stock is down 41% so far this year. The company faces so many challenges that Brad Munchen, an auto analyst who writes the Motorhead column here on Substack, posted an excellent piece on Friday asking, “Could Tesla Go Bankrupt? The Odds Are Rising.” The money line: “Things crash hard and loud in the auto industry and I’ve never seen a carmaker in as dangerous of a position as Tesla currently is in.”
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Le journal du peintre 2 