EV leader Tesla saw its share price fall more than 3% Monday after it cut prices on many of its vehicles by as much as $2,000 over the weekend. It’s the second time the company’s slashed prices in the past two weeks, highlighting the company’s efforts to revive sales and improve profits. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Tesla on Friday ordered the recall of nearly all of its Cybertrucks because their throttle pedals could stick when fully depressed, leading to potential runaway acceleration. The recall comes about three weeks after the automaker first received notice of the defect which, so far, has not been blamed for any crashes.
Elon Musk took a big hit to the wallet in January when a Delaware judge rejected the $56 billion payout he was awarded by Tesla. The decision, along with Tesla’s weakened stock price, briefly knocked Musk off his perch as the world’s richest man. Now, Tesla is asking its shareholders to vote again on the pay plan while proposing other changes that would make it less likely future proposals could run into legal trouble.
For the fourth time in its more than 100-year history, General Motors is moving its corporate headquarters – but it isn’t going very far. The automaker will relocate from the current, facility along the Detroit River to the city’s newest highrise 1.2 miles away. The move was driven by a variety of factors, said GM CEO Mary Barra, including the need for less office space following the COVID pandemic.
It was a good year for BMW, the automaker gaining traction in most global markets while setting an all-time record in the U.S. To keep the momentum going, the automaker is planning a product blitz that will see nearly 40 new models come to market over the next half-decade, including an assortment of battery-electric vehicles, EVs already generating about 13% of the Bavarian automakers U.S. sales.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reacting to the EV maker’s sluggish sales by cutting 10% of the company’s global workforce, according to reports. Additionally, he’s making other personnel changes aimed at reducing overhead. The move comes 10 days after he slashed prices on vehicles to stimulate sales. Find out more at Headlight.News.
Barely a week from now the 4,000 workers at the Volkswagen of America plant in Chattanooga will begin voting on whether they want to join the United Auto Workers in the first test of the UAW’s effort to sign up workers at the foreign-owned automotive plants that have popped up across the United States over the last four decades.
Tesla pulled the plug on a program aimed at developing a $25,000 EV, even as Chinese automakers led by BYD double down on bringing to market all-electric vehicles affordable often to reach mainstream buyers. According to Reuters, Tesla CEO Elon Musk now wants to focus on self-driving robocabs.
Ford this week confirmed it will indefinitely delay the launch of a new, all-electric SUV to put more focus on hybrids. It’s also cut back on production of its F-150 Lightning pickup. But while some EV skeptics take these moves as a sign that the market for all-electric vehicles is waning, Ford actually saw a surge during the first quarter, notably for its Mustang Mach-E. Here’s how it charged up demand.
With sales falling sharply, the first quarter of 2024 was an “unmitigated disaster,” according to one of Tesla’s big boosters. Now, one of the automaker’s big critics is warning the company could “go bust.”
It’s become something of conventional wisdom that the EV market is slowing down. And there’s no question that, on a percentage basis, the growth rate for battery-electric vehicles has slowed over the last 12 months. But the market does continue to grow, Kia’s EV sales jumping 151% in March. Ironically, it was the 800-pound gorilla of the battery-electric market, Tesla, where sales fell well short of expectations.
After an uncertain start, U.S. auto sales showed solid momentum in March, with big gains by Japan’s big three and record numbers from Hyundai – which was charged up by EV demand. But Tesla posted a rare sales slid and GM lost ground during the first quarter. Meanwhile, high transaction prices continue to keep many buyers out of the market.