The Current : Weekly EV News Ep#9 May 5, 2024
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- Опубліковано 28 чер 2024
- Join Miss GoElectric for the latest episode of her weekly EV and electrification news series called "The Current". In this episode she will summarize developments in the EV space including:
00:00 Introduction
00:25 Tesla Charging Team
04:58 Critical Mineral Subsidy Restrictions
06:25 Costco EV Deals
06:50 Acura ZDX
08:15 Rivian Advances Illinois Manufacturing
09:18 Formula E Gen3 EVO
RELEVANT LINKS:
Tesla Earnings deck digitalassets.tesla.com/tesla...
NEVI plans per state
driveelectric.gov/state-plans/
Formula E GEN 3 EVO unveiling
www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/4...
US EV tax credit updates to extend eligibility
home.treasury.gov/news/press-...
How to qualify
fueleconomy.gov/feg/tax2023.s...
Acura announces ZDX deliveries
www.acura.com/suvs/zdx
Costco EV Incentives 1-2k off
www.costcoauto.com/automotive...
It is springtime and we hope you'll check out our eBike reviews before you make a decision. We've got a whole channel for that: @MissGoElectricRideReviews
A great start is our "Complete eBike Buying Guide": • Exploring the Categori...
Thanks for watching!
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Visit my website for Deals on eBikes and Miss GoElectric Merchandise:
deals.missgoelectric.com
/ missgoelectric
Daily electrification updates
Other Miss GoElectric Channels:
/ @missgoelectricriderev...
eBikes and eMobility Reviews, Previews, and News
/ @missgoelectricindustry
Factory Tours, Business Coverage, Interviews with Leaders
/ missgoelectric
Fun photos behind the scenes and at public appearances
/ missgoelectric
Event invitations and community
This episode is also available on Spotify! open.spotify.com/show/2mlnkLl...
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@GeneralMotors @ford @tesla @Honda @toyotausa @MINI @MercedesBenz @DepartmentOfCommerceWA - Авто та транспорт
Great video, keep up the good work.
We will do our very best. We hope to see you next week. -Producer Tim
The Tesla Sc Team being fired is not about how the current charging will continue to work. It is about future expansion and how fast other cars gain access. Rivian was the last one to gain access to SuC on March 18th. None since then? Why? It has to be related to the team being fired. There were obvious problems before the date of the firings.
We appreciate your comments. The layoffs happened a month after Rivian's activation. Your speculation of trouble is shared by others. We suspect this personnel shakeup will definitely cause some delays. We do not ascribe any long term value to those delays. We anticipate no measurable detriment to Tesla owners or third party OEMs. GM is next in line. That company is familiar with delays and limited rollouts. ;)
-Producer Tim
An update from leadership: twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1788834859110002716?t=XDolmiJyefAmjSJKP4Hdfw&s=19
Lacie,
You showed how "expensive" the supercharger team were per site installed. That is their cost. Now look at the benefit of that team. They enable the sales of Tesla vehicles. Without the Tesla supercharger network Tesla would not have sold but a small fraction of what they have. Supercharging is a critical driver for Tesla sales. Slowing down Supercharger development will slow sales.
Killing the supercharger team is killing the goose that laid the Golden Egg.
In addition this firing goes against the Tesla mission, to accelerate the adoption of sustainable energy and transportation. Slowing down is the opposite of accelerating.
JeanPierre, We totally agree that it would be crazy to kill the supercharger division. Many people were removed, but the roles and tasks associated with growing and maintaining the network carry on. As we pointed out, the Supercharger team's work these days is mostly project management. That skillset is common and the company should have no problem absorbing the workload. In this segment, Miss GoElectric stated that there have been no affects on the network's functionality. It was great two weeks ago, and it is great now. The difference is that people are aware of an internal kerfuffle and some loud voices have begun shouting that the sky is falling as a result. In this case, we are the counterbalance to those voices. -Producer Tim
Past sales do not depend on future expansion of the network. SuperChargers no longer sell Tesla Cars to the extent they once did. It looks like it is selling far more Fords, Ford EV sales up 130%, Tesla intentionally showed the world how to build EVs. "Tesla mission, to accelerate the adoption of sustainable energy and transportation."
Now Tesla needs to continue making money to survive. SuperChargers are no longer laying golden eggs. China will continue to price their cars below Tesla and the rest of the world via direct support to the Chinese automakers.
@@MissGoElectric I don't concur that project management is not a critical function nor is it easily absorbed by an organization. I was a project manager for five years, that was a career mistake and I won't be a project manager again. It's a very difficult job. I was good at it, it paid well but I hated it so I changed. I question Tesla's ability to absorb the project management duties easily because for one there are ten of thousands fewer people at Tesla and also project management isn't something you do as a secondary part of your role. As I said it's a tough job, not one that is typically enjoyed by someone who's primary role is technical in nature. Don't ask me how I know ;-)
Could Tesla hire good PM's to take their place. Sure. But why eliminate the entire department. There had to be good employees there worth keeping that contributed to the company's success.
I realize there have been no short term impacts to the network. The impacts I foresee are down the road, as Tesla hits its next growth curve and needs to expand the supercharger network rapidly again it will want to engage external entities in that endeavour. Having proven itself as an unreliable partner that won't come easy. Contractors have been asked to be patient with regard to getting paid. They won't forget that Tesla fired the folks that were instrumental in them getting them their payments. Tesla isn't short of cash so the delay in payments can only be attributed to the sudden and complete elimination of Rebecca's team. Approving invoices may be an administrative function, but it is critical to vendor relations. I learned as an IT Manager that maintaining good vendor relations is critical for when you need their help during times of need. Burning your vendors is never a good move.
@@MissGoElectricand thank you VERY much for that counterpoint
@@danharold3087ABSOLUTELY! Correct!
Thanks for the info!
Thank you for watching and commenting this week :)
Ty I enjoy ur weekly roundup of the ev world news, and the no drama approach is appreciated unlike other ev ""buffs" on youtub. Ty
We are so happy to hear that. We've listened to the podcasts and read the headlines of shock and outrage. Heck, Miss GoElectric was even a weekly host on the InsideEVs podcast for months. It can be entertaining to listen to dramatic, sensationalist, or animated characters speculate and opine. We are trying to cut to the chase, and deliver the news we found most valuable with great time density. We hope there is an audience of people like you who will make their way to this show and comment regularly. Your participation and encouragement are greatly appreciated. -Producer Tim
Thank you vary much for unbiased, un politicized EV reporting.
There’s soooooo much Tesla and Elon bashing these days,, even by mainstream media it’s sickening. And thank you for the concise to the point factual quick reporting. People are forgetting that the world wouldn’t be where it is today with regards to EVs without Elon and Tesla. Tesla in order to keep expanding will have to make tough cost cutting decisions when more money and resources need to be allocated . It neccesary in any FAST growing company or startup. Thank you for shedding light on the REAL facts about the charging team layoffs, that all the biased , sensationalistic YT channels didn’t want to cover. As you said many decisions like this are made all the time in rapidly expanding companies, it’s not pleaseant, but is sometimes neccesary.
Aptera is now being criticized for greatly trimming back expenses and employees in order to survive while waiting for bigger funding to reach full scale ramp up, early next year.
It’s a neccesary evil. Anyone who says otherwise, doesn’t have a clue as to how startups or rapidly expanding companies need to operate to keep expanding or survive.
One major issue not discussed is the lack of support staff remaining at Tesla to help other OEMs transition to NACS.
We addressed that very topic with the emphasis on the department constituting 0.03% of Tesla as well as our assessment that the workload will be absorbed by the organization. The objective does not require rare talent. We are of the mind that this personnel shakeup would not be detectable by people outside the company if it had not been leaked and sensationalized. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectricyes exactly
@@MissGoElectric An email was sent from Tesla to suppliers and contractors asking them to be patient with regard to getting paid. This is hardly "leaked" it was sent to Tesla's external partners in an attempt by the people left behind that are trying to pick up the pieces.
The email you've referenced is not the primary leak of internal (Tesla to Tesla) communications. In this segment, the original source of leaking (The Information) was named.
www.theinformation.com/articles/musk-plans-more-layoffs-as-two-senior-tesla-executives-depart
Elon was upset that some of his largest followers on X platform shared this leak and he unfollowed them. A few days later, he refollowed them.
www.benzinga.com/news/24/04/38540003/elon-musk-unfollows-tesla-investor-sawyer-merritt-over-alleged-confidential-information-leak-dont-po
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric I'm not sure what the significance of which email came first is. The news was getting out either way.
Here's a useful thought exercise.
When Tesla initially announced worldwide layoffs of over 10% of their workforce it was understandably big news. All EV journalists covered it. It was a big deal.
When the news regarding the supercharger dismissals became public at least one journalistic outlet (e.g. Batteries Included podcast) referred to the supercharger news as bigger news than the original layoff story with regard to EV charging. I had the same reaction to the supercharger news prior to this podcast covering it four days later. I was more alarmed to hear the supercharger team had been dismissed than 14,000+ employees. Many people shared similar reactions, Sure Tom M may have exaggerated, but this came days *after* my reaction to the news. The sensationalism of the story did not shape peoples reactions. It validated and reinforced them maybe, but the sensationalism wasn't that significant IMHO.
Ask yourself why was the dismissal of about 500+ employees is a bigger news story than the 14,000+ layoffs? By the numbers it's disproportionate by a wide margin. IMHO the supercharger network is a central reason why owners bought a Tesla in the first place. This is why reactions have been as huge as they have been. Any threat to the viability of the supercharger network will cause owners to be worried their travel freedom might be reduced and their vehicles may not be as viable for their needs in the coming years. A vehicle is the second biggest purchase we make in life, the impact to the owner is central the owners reaction to the supercharger layoffs. It is very important for Tesla to make supercharging as dependable as possible long term. This news put a question mark on being able to depend upon supercharging. Perception is reality. Tesla messed with people's perception and that's all that matters to those people.
You have repeated that the 500 employees represent a small fraction of Tesla headcount. I recall 0.03%. The cost savings of that 0.03% is a drop in the bucket compared to the 10+%. It's a rounding error in the savings Tesla accomplished. Tesla misjudged the external fallout of messing with the 0.03% vs the 10% Hindsight being 20/20 it would have been to their advantage to keep most of the team and just remove Rebecca. They're human, they make mistakes. This one was a doozy.
Good to see all views of the stories, thanks for sharing yours!
Thank you for viewing and commenting. We'll need about 25,000 views per week in order for this production to approach sustainable income and your comments or sharing the link help a great deal. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Cool insight and stats, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your comments on Tesla's charging situation. Your pragmatic, no-nonsense assessment of an emotional and thorny issue is like a breath of fresh air.
It is reassuring to know there is still an audience for rational, optimistic coverage. We hope you'll join us again next week. Thank you. -Producer Tim
100% agree! I’m now a huge fan of this channel
I subscribed and like every video. Hope you grow and become daily. I like the news format.
Thank you! 🙌🏼
Good update, thanks 😊
Thanks for tuning in and commenting!
I would have gotten the Lyriq if they didn't break their word and lie to us about being all electric by 2030. Not interested in the Acura.
You've had the best coverage on why the Tesla charging department got fired I've seen. It was extremely unflattering, so odd that you followed it with such a positive segment. An interesting perspective, even if I greatly disagree with it. It is likely to slow the super charging network opening to the other non tesla vehicles, and creates dangerous uncertainty in the industry at a time when we need more stability.
We appreciate your viewership and understand that our take on this issue is far from typical. Decades working inside a dozen OEMs, often directly with CEOs and other leadership have shown us a lot about how this business works. We also have an uncommon perspective about the replaceability of workers. We agree that the move was brutal and we know that Tesla regenerates talent very quickly.
We agree with you other automakers will benefit greatly by allowing their customers to access the subset of Tesla Superchargers which are compatible with cooperating OEMS. This particular channel is focused on expansion of electrified mobility and we can see that your hopes are aligned with ours.
We do not view shakeup as a move which will necessarily have any significant long term negative implications. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Bravo.
Search for companies that fired over 10% of their staff and it reads like a who's who of big companies you buy from every day. This is only news because people, for reasons I don't fully understand, want to squash america's best bet in engineering & manufacturing.
Tesla is light on its feet because it does not allow fiefdoms or silos within the company. Expectations is that Tesla will hire people back where needed in the superCharging dept. Why would people otherwise?
@@MissGoElectric I hope it won't. It's just that the zeitgeist right now seems to be taking a beating from all the fossil fuel FUD, and this seems to be a powerful negative move that can further it. I hope you're right though. We will see.
Just found your channel & subscribed. Thanks!
We are very happy to welcome you. You'll find much more content on our other UA-cam channels as well as on X and Instagram. Links are all available missgoelectric.com
-Producer Tim
Awesome contact gang.
The Highlander.😊❤
Thanks for your viewership. -Producer Tim
Good info and context
We are grateful for your viewership. We hope you share it and look forward to making you another episode next week. -Producer Tim
I’d Love to see you guys Cover Aptera, which has the potential to become the NEXT big disruptor in the EV space.
Full disclosure : im a brand ambassador as well as a 5 figure investor and accelerator investor in the company because I firmly believe the world is ready and needs a revolutionary vehicle like Aptera,,, but,,, I’m also an investor and fan of Tesla as well, as well as any EV brand that trys to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Aside from being more green , EVs are clearly the answer moving foward to a more affordable and sustainable transportation future, and Aptera in particular is pushing the boundaries as to what’s possible and never been done before, by using bleeding edge design and production methods never attempted by any Vehicle manufacturers before now. By asking themselves HOW can we build the most efficient practical vehicle ever , they came up with the concept for Aptera by using 1st design principles .
We have been following Aptera for about ten years.. we hope they can make it to production one of these days.
Finally a logical, fact-based analysis of the supercharger layoffs. Numerous other industry experts I listen to imply this change will shortly translate to superchargers shutting down or up-time scores degrading. This won't happen. The temporary deceleration in EV adoption is a logical time to switch focus from building the SC network to maintaining it. Growth will continue, both through the addition of stations and through adding dispensers to existing stations. I suspect Tesla can add additional dispensers at some locations without upgrading utility facilities and with little or no degradation in charging speed (not all cars are charging at maximum rate at any time). Thank you for this critical thinking and analysis.
Thank you for watching and sharing your perspective. We hope you'll subscribe to join us weekly. -Producer Tim
It sounds like you're in Tesla's PR department.
They have one of those?
@@MissGoElectric 🤣🤣🤣
Or.... Someone actually did some analysis and looked at it from a business/sevice perspective.
@@lonoleo I wholeheartedly agree, and that perspective is Tesla’s perspective.
So firing the entire Supercharger team was the best solution when the team leader refused to make a 'Sophie's Choice'? This was the result of the temper tantrum, not a calculated business decision
Best intelligent no drama information. Thank you
Thank you for taking the time to offer this encouraging comment. We will continue to do our very best to keep this weekly 10 minutes informative and down to earth. -Producer Tim
thanks Lacy i just saw this may 10
We hope you'll tune in weekly
-Producer Tim
The pic of the blue Acura reminded me so much of the blue blazer EVS. Then I believe u said there’s some teamwork w gm on it so maybe that’s why lol. I love your shows and personality
The Honda Prologue is based on the Blazer, both made in Mexico by GM. The party is over between those two automakers, though.
www.auto123.com/en/news/honda-gm-end-partnership-electric-vehicles/70853/
Great report and graphics.
Overheard at Cadillac a few months ago: "...we can't move these Lyriqs, even though were only building less than 1/3 of what we announced." "OK, lets do a "program" for Honda to sell them as an Acura then, they don't have anything electric to sell anyway. By the way... tell the Graphic Arts people they can expect to work the next 4 weekends to make all the Badging, Logos and print changes say "Acura"... " 😂
It is fairly common for automakers to rebadge for one another. This particular partnership was short lived.
www.auto123.com/en/news/honda-gm-end-partnership-electric-vehicles/70853/
www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/honda-shelves-plan-co-develop-smaller-evs-with-gm-bloomberg-news-2023-10-25/
Thank you for watching and commenting! -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Huh? This video is having Honda announce the ZDX, the 2 articles are referring to development of new models, not rebadging the Lyriq to the ZDX, neither of which is "affordable" or "low cost".
The ZDX and Prologue are the result of efforts which began several years ago. GM and Honda/Acura had intended to cooperate much more beyond these two models. I posted the articles to demonstrate that the relationship has concluded. These two models are vestigial.
@@MissGoElectric OK, thanks for the clarification. Vestigial for the ZDX = "orphan", got it.
Wouldn't Honda and GM have to be dead in order for ZDX to be an orphan?
I opine that Tinucci was right to NOT dismiss any of her Supercharger team, no matter the generic mandate that the CEO issued. The NACS transition needs all hands on deck. There are numerous other divisions in the company where cutbacks would not prove as harmful.
Correct. The impact of these job cuts is two order of magnitude bigger than many of the other workers eliminated. I'm not saying the people are better or more valuable, but the role they were doing was God's work for EV's. Without those functions being staffed the network cannot expand.
You are both right that the work is important. We also agree that this was a brutal way to send a message. Where our opinions differ is the fluidity of ready talent to pick up the slack. As stated in this segment, there have been no negative repercussions affecting the charging network. The company has already begun absorbing the workload. We think the messy move will be cleaned up and have no affect on EV adoption or Tesla's bottom line. In fact, its likely that similar things have happened within Tesla before, but didn't get leaked. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Thanks for your reply. You said something significant regarding that similar actions in the past have not "leaked out". The important differentiator with regard to the Supercharging team and other technical teams at Tesla is that a lot of the Supercharger teams interactions are external to the organization. The sudden and complete elimination of the external facing team undermines trust in Tesla in multiple industries they depend upon. Will utilities be willing to give Tesla priority for a transformer. Utilities expend large sums of money to ready the grid for a transformer well before its delivery. Tesla have pulled approved permits from locations already I know of four in New York and two in Nashville. This reputational harm is not quickly and easily regained. We have yet to see how this will impact Tesla's ability to ramp up supercharger installs again in the future.
@@JeanPierreWhiteI think some of the capex to grow SuC network in certain locations is not planned well for high utilization. Especially when they are constrained on Ai capital expenditure, a lower utilization rate does not help at all. And remember you and I don’t have utilization data. But I suspect , locations with 50-60-80 stations will never see positive cash flow in their life. That’s the reason for this sudden pause I think.
@@JeanPierreWhite If you ever see 'God' used to justify anything run the other way.
Sounds like you did more analysis on the Supercharge team layoffs than Elon did.
We have more free time than he does. ;)
Thank you for commenting -Producer Tim
Thank you for the piece about the Tesla layoffs. On one hand it sounded like the team was let go because the department head would not comply with orders. Then on the other it was a strategic move. My opinion based on nothing is that the leadership issue initiated the idea to layoffs.
The 10% layoffs were planned. The high concentration of layoffs in the Supercharger division were (reportedly) a reaction to Elon's dissatisfaction with execution on his directives.
Our take is that the punitive behavior is unfortunate for those employees, but likely achieved the desired result of improving compliance from other department heads. When leadership has control and can count on results from subordinates, strategies can be carried out.
Thank you for commenting.
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Sorry I miss spoke. I knew the company wide layoffs were coming, it was the idea of laying off the department that was precipitated by the disagreement. I agree that leadership need to follow direction. In fact, a while back, the tech company I work for also asked leadership to come up with names and people were gone left and right. The difference here, of course speculating, is that a disagreement resulted in a dept. being let go. And yes effectively reducing the head count needed but do so in a chaotic matter and leaving others to clean up the mess. I guess it's the old Facebook mentality of Move Fast and Break Things. Rant over. Thanks
Yours is a very good summary. -Producer Tim
I subscribed because no one has explained the numbers for the supercharger lay off in those details. Even if they are estimates or conjectures it does make more sense knowing what we know about Elon.
These are black and white figures. While I support labor rights and understand the human toll. The man is focused on select goals for the company and will fire and move anything or anyone that is not directly helping to speed the company toward its goals. Anyway. You earned the sub as no one else of the several Tesla channels I follow looked at the numbers this clearly.
We are glad you've found this segment. We usually do not dedicate such a high percentage of our weekly 10-minute segment to one story. In this case, we felt as if sensationalism around the topic had not been sufficiently counterbalanced with pragmatism elsewhere. We hope you'll share this segment and come back next week. Thank you for commenting. -Producer Tim
Future, How do you charge a robotaxi fleet? Not with the current supercharge, unless you pay someone to plug in.
Team mission accomplished.
Wireless charging will be integrated shortly due to the intellectual property Tesla captured during the Wiferion acquisition. Cybertruck already has the hardware support on board for upgrades. You can see the cavity near the trailer hitch.
-Producer Tim
On the Acura story, I think more companies should cooperate on vehicle construction.
There are savings to be had for both companies, and it can mean getting models into production faster.
I wonder if Mr. Musk and Tesla would be willing to co-produce a vehicle with another company?
At the Tesla IPO Elon did an interview with a finance show and he talked about supplying to other automakers. Early on they did work for Toyota and Mercedes/Smart.
Thanks for commenting. -Producer Tim
I wish I could say I was amazed by the number of people brainwashed by media who in part makes a living bashing Tesla. Read your replies and am in total agreement.
There are some pragmatists left. Thank you for viewing and commenting. We hope you'll come back next week. -Producer Tim
Great video miss go electric team!
Its a privilege to have you here. Please do share this if you can. We'd love to keep producing this segment and it is important that it find an audience. -Producer Tim
Also Freewire appears to be closing. 😢
I saw that last night and will include it in next week's episode. Thanks for commenting and watching!
So Tesla: 1) Now has numerous agreements with the largest Hotel chains, as well an Oil company (Gas Stations) to add many thousands of Superchargers. 2) The "team" that was dismissed (40 people?) spent their days dealing with local government bureaucracies to get permits to allow Tesla to drop off the new modular superchargers. 3 ) Of the over 1 million Teslas in the USA, which has the longest distances between population centers (~10x Europe's ), the vast majority charge at home overnight for pennies with only a few superchargers visits per quarter and 4) the plants actually building the quad supercharger drop-ins are fully staffed and working as usual. Right?
The dismissed team was 500 people not 40. The tasks this team performed was much more complex than you described. Permits were but one of their responsibilities. They also had to work with contractors who do the site work, they had to pay the contractors. They had to deal with electrical utilities to get transformers delivered and hooked to the grid. They had locate sites that are close to travel routes and have amenities. These sites are located on private property and they would negotiate with the landlord to get permission to build the site. All of these external entities would require contracts to be drawn and signed. The team would plan the site and generate all the necessary detailed plans and documentation to satisfy landlord, planning departments, electric utilities. As these entities have questions/concerns the team would coordinate that and get the answers or adjust plans to meet needs. The team would work with internal Tesla teams to make sure supercharger equipment and materials are manufactured and delivered to each site at the right time.
There is LOT more than "dropping off" the equipment to be "dropped in". Dude.
Hotels and Gas Stations. OK
1. Hotels. - Once the destination chargers are installed they have to be added to the Tesla vehicle maps. Otherwise drivers would not be able to find them easily. Guess which team added destination charges to the map.
2. Gas Stations. - Installations like that are planned by BP Pulse will be handled by BP to a large degree, but they will need to interface to Tesla to get the stations online. Guess which team did that work.
Charging at home.
Sure many owners charge at home. However would anyone have bought a Tesla that could ONLY be charged at home? Very few. Certainly not millions. Supercharger stations are a primary driver for Tesla sales. I recommended Tesla as an EV *because* it was the only road trip capable EV in North America. Other EV's depend upon charging stations that are weak sauce compared to the Tesla Network. I can no longer recommend Tesla over other brands. If someone road trips I will now tell them to get a gasser instead of an EV. If Tesla or someone else can replace these critical infrastructure functions this team did then I will once again be able to recommend an EV.
We all agree that the work is important. Over the last decade and a half, they did a lot of pioneering. JeanPierre's description of the work that department has been doing lately is what we would categorize as bureaucratic or project management. We think that workload can be transferred to new hires with very little friction compared to many other divisions at Tesla which require higher levels of specialization and rare skills.
Tesla's network is still the very best, and this personnel shakeup has not changed outcomes for Tesla owners. We do not think it will have any affect significant affect on the business or the industry at large. We have voiced this perspective specifically because it is contrary to what we are seeing from other journalists and personalities in the space.
Thank you both for weighing in and sharing your viewpoints. Its a real privilege to share enthusiasm for electrification with all of you here in the comments. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Exactly!
Minor point to pick: you should have put " " around "journalists". Perhaps "rumor monger click farmers" might be a better description, though
Tesla is a brilliant company because of their dedicated, skilled employees. Musks hissy fits and bully tactics towards his staff is causing irreparable harm to the long term mission. Only cowards fire staff by email. A decent CEO would have given staff a decent notice and an explanation as to why the entire super charger team were ditched for a start.I notice that the head of HR rresigned in protest. Musk needs to step down.
Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Remember, there will be at least 14,000 people laid off. There isn't much precedent in corporate America for the CEO to visit departments in person to break the news face to face. That said, Elon is not famous for being patient or warm. He is famous for embarrassing established industry leaders by developing superior solutions with unprecedented capital
efficiency. You are right that his companies attract much of best talent in the world. We suspect it will not take long for the team to pick up the slack for the 0.03% of the company in charge of charging. Our argument here is that the department was once in charge of pioneering and has become more of a bureaucracy over time. They've built the backbone, now they just need to keep the Supercharger networks reliable and with sufficient dispensers. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric The idea that supercharging development is "done" is kinda off IMHO. V4 cabinets have yet to see light of day. What about V5, is that not a possible development to further enhance vehicle charging beyond V4? Your comments remind me of the patent office around the turn of the 20th century.
"“Everything that can be invented has been invented” is a quote often attributed to Charles H. Duell, the Commissioner of the US patent office in 1899. The quote is said to suggest that the patent office should be permanently closed because there is nothing left to invent."
We didn't claim it was done. We claimed that it is now iterative and administrative. We claimed this HR move would not likely make a difference to users of the network. So far, reality has been in line with our projections.
twitter.com/TeslaCharging/status/1788979832551801114?t=JS0tfRciuSh7E6hQvxpdQQ&s=19
-Producer Tim
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🙌🏼⚡🤓
Thank you very much for the intelligent, concise, quick, no drama, non politicized EV reporting. You guys have quickly become my favorite EV news channel because of that.
It’s sickening to see the mainstream media, as well as some You Tubers attack Elon and or Tesla because of politics or personal biases. ANY Rapidly expanding disruptive tech company in order to expand and or survive is going to have to make very tough cost cutting decisions to free up money and resources, it’s normal. Aptera has recently been catching ALOT of heat recently by laying off many employees while it works on securing funding from large investors in order to tool up for larger scale production in 9months, but they wouldn’t survive to start of production without doing this.
Thanks for explaining why it could make sense for Tesla to do what it had to do in order to expand further and compete in an ever more competive and complex EV market. People seem to forget that Tesla and Elon are the reasons that the EV market is as big as it is today, in order to keep growing rapidly, they’re absolutely going to have to make tough decisions like these. And so is Aptera justified for making its tough choices too.
Thank you for joining us and sharing your perspective. It is important to understand motives and consider outcomes at the macro level present-day as well as on a long time horizon.
We hope you'll be back with us next week. If you can share this episode, we'd appreciate it. The show takes quite a bit of time to write, shoot, and edit and the audience size is not yet sufficient to make the effort sustainable. We could use some help getting the word out. -Producer Tim
For those with Negative perspective...
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May 2023, Ford anounces "We're joining NACS!!"
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Within months, numerous others join.
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Tesla increases installation in anticipation of others using the network..
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October 2023.... Manufacturers start suggesting a slowdown in EV investments.
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By April 2024 many have essentially stopped EV production.
.
Now, my speculation....
.
When flying home from a meeting where *everyone* was "on the same page", Elon Musk looks at the Supercharger network data.
.
He quickly realises that folloeing the "pullbacks" there are sufficient chargers for *Tesla* vehicles, plus the 10%(?) of "other" EVs.
.
Then, that for the near future, demand can be satisfied by:
Ungrading certain existing locations (V2)
.
Completing projects already under construction.
and
Filling gaps in the Network.
.
(He states this in an Xchange thread)
....
The conclusion is that since others have essentially *stopped* production, if the rate of Supercharger installation is maintained, the network will have chargers not being used and will lose money.
.
He takes preemptive action.
Armchair experts are frequently outraged and confused. Usually it is because they lack information or they lack strategic sophistication. We try to help with both. Thank you for your detailed comment. -Producer Tim
Lacey,
You showed the prefab supercharger stations and indicated this is the path forward for Tesla supercharger locations. While those are a great innovation let's be clear about two facts.
1. This prefab process has been around at Tesla for two years or more. It's not the "new way forward". It is a way forward but it's not revolutionary. That's how the fired team were so successful in Q1 this year.
2. Even if the prefab stations take less skill at the site, that job is done by electrical contractors, not Tesla employees. None of the fired employees at Tesla were "overpaid" installers.
We are familiar with both of the facts you've included. In fact, last week we spent few hours talking to the president of one of Tesla's most heavily utilities third party electrician corporations. We learned a great deal about how the Supercharger installation process has evolved over the last 15 years. We very much understand where DC Fast charging labor and costs go. Perhaps you've seen our HQ tours and executive interviews at Electrify America HQ, ChargePoint HQ, and SK Signet's Texas factory? Have you seen our NEVI budget coverage and commentary on X?
We view the Supercharger department in 2024 as largely administrative. We have no reason to doubt Elon's posts in which he reaffirms that network uptime and stall availability are a primary focus. We know that Tesla has already begun picking up the workload and that there have been no disruptions to the network. In fact, new Supercharger locations have come online even in the short time since the layoffs. -Producer Tim
These layoffs and the ones announced today really look bad when viewed against the 56 Billion Tesla is trying to pay Musk.
Thank you for bringing this up.
Tesla employees are also shareholders. Shareholders vote for or against the pay package. The timing of these layoffs will not likely work in his favor. Even so, I (personally) expect shareholders to vote for the compensation as they did in 2018.
What's your prediction?
-Producer Tim
Very sensible & well thought through mass firing by a stable genius, you can tell by the panicked communication: we don't know who you are or what you're doing but we value you very much, don't start any projects
When a CEO asks for something and it is not delivered, there are two common reasons. 1) incompetence 2) defiance
Strong leaders act swiftly to stop the spread of either one of those. It is more difficult to get in at Tesla than Ivy league schools. With so many hungry recruits, most roles within the company can be filled. This move sent a message, and I'd venture to guess there aren't many other leaders pushing back on this directive.
Effective execution takes many forms. Plotted maneuvers are part of the equation. Swift reactions which serve the larger objectives are also part of the equation.
Thank you for watching and commenting. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric It sent a message for sure, a reckless one meant to feed Musk's ego. "Cut off your nose to spite your face" management style is not demonstrating strong leadership, it demonstrates reckless leadership that feels good only in the short-term.
Or...it restores obedience, which allows strategies to be executed quickly, steering the organization in the right direction for long term prosperity.
A billionaire corporate leader who rose to power without an ego...are there some real world examples of that?
When the founder and leader of one of the world's most valuable and productive companies makes a move which an onlooker does not understand, that does not mean the move is senseless. It could be an indication that the onlooker is missing context or strategic sophistication.
-Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric You do not need to be a "billionaire corporate leader" to understand right from wrong. This behavior is clearly wrong, no matter how hard you try to justify it. BTW, who is that leader you are referring to that has no ego, as that can't be Mr. Musk. 🙂
I won't applaud tyrannical leadership and accept an expected role as an expendable commodity. There is room for fair pay and fair treatment of workers and profits. Unlimited power led to our robber barons and the mistreatment of workers. I'm more impressed by GM being Union and producing Chevy Bolt then Tesla for the moment.
In reference to Tesla's Charging division getting essentially all fired, I believe Super Charger Version 4 are going to be much delayed as it is not finalised and many of the current Version 4 charger dispensers are utilising super charger version 3 cabinets limited to 500 volt which does not help with a good charging experience with their Cybertruck! So not all is rosy at Tesla charging division. Unfortunately with the many good staff that were whole sale layed off, If I was working there I would think twice on returning to work with such little job security because of a poor manger decision when she was specifically being instructed by Elon to do mass trimming of head count in her division.
You are right that babies do get thrown out with the bathwater when Elon is reducing parts or headcount. His approach is to remove parts until there are some hiccups, then add parts back if necessary.
As for V4, we do not have clarity on how/if technical staff has been affected. Additionally, there had been no publicly announced launch date for V4 in the USA, so if timelines have slipped, we wouldn't know it anyhow. We know that on site engineers have been working on the network without interruption. We know that hundreds of project managers and administrators have been dismissed, but it is possible the shakeup has not significantly impacted the hardware team in Buffalo, NY.
For what it is worth, we have Supercharged our Cybertruck dozens of times over the last three weeks, driving it about 4,500 miles all over the USA. The experience has been flawless and charge times have been comparable to our Model Y and Model S. We know Cybertruck holds the promise of superior performance, but we are pleased as punch with the experience so far.
Thank you for commenting. -Producer Tim
finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-says-babies-got-144707352.html
@@MissGoElectric Yes the charging may be representative of Model Y and S, but as it is a truck with less efficiency and with towing abilities it really needs proper V 4 charging at 800volt. I have a 2023 Tesla Model Y which I bought after having DC fast charging issues with my earlier acquired 2023 Ionq 5 (6 service visits and 7 months to finally fix it (it would not fast DC charge) I sold it and bought my Y), so I fully understand charging. I hope V4 are updated to their 800volt as many that have the EGM-P platform from the Hyundai Kia group really would also befit. My Ioniq 5 was just a one of lemon that had a very simple problem a bent pin on a plug that connected Charging port temperature module. Unfortunately the technician only replace the problem a fried board rather than going after the cause, it was finally fixed on the third board after another dealer service tech caught the error of my original dealer service department missing the cause of module failure.
Hyundai group is making some great stuff and the value is outstanding right now. There will surely be some growing pains, but they are on the right track. We look forward to continued progress on all fronts including the vehicles and the speed of the charging infrastructure. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Hi Tim, our first car we had a 2019 Kia Soul EV (30KW) (I got hooked on EVs with that car) which we traded for the Ioniq 5, it was excellent so I know that another car from the Kia / Hyundai group would be fine, but you do and will get problem vehicles from any manufacturer, we still have our 2020 Kia Soul EV Limited (64KW) with over 100K KM, not one issue other than the cheap lead acid 12 volt battery which I replaced with a high quality AGM battery. I am now thinking of trading that in for the simply awesome Kia EV9 but here in Canada we are on a 1 to 2 year wait list. For some reason in Kia Canada does not bring much EVs even in BC where we have last year reached 25% new car registrations are EVs, you would think the writing is on the wall.
Tesla needs to make $25,000 EVs and widen its product lines. Motorcycles and lawn mowers
Elon has said he will never make a motorcycle due to a near death experience he had. Tesla is actively developing more affordable models at Giga Texas for release within a year or so.
In some states, Tesla's Model Y is currently in the 25-30k range brand new. The monthly payments on that would be as low as a $25k car due to the 0.99% interest rate currently offered by Tesla. -Producer Tim
www.notebookcheck.net/Model-Y-price-is-cheapest-ever-at-23-550-with-new-WA-state-rebate-as-Tesla-adds-Quicksilver-color-option.831728.0.html
You really 'missed the boat" on the Supercharger story. Tom M at State of Charge channel described things much more realistically. And folks at Electrek and Clean Technica as well.
Thank you for sharing your opinion.
We think Tom is a fun guy and we appreciate his voice. On a podcast regarding this topic he said a few interesting things:
1) "Nobody will ever trust Tesla again"
2) he insinuated that OEMs might consider going back to CCS rather than offering their customers access to the largest and most reliable DC fast charging network in America as a result of this personnel shakeup.
3) "Elon only cares about himself"
He has visited of dealerships and learned plenty during his time with the nonprofit Plugin America. He has interacted extensively with communications departments at OEMs as editor with InsideEVs. He even ran a decent sized local business with 60 employees for a lifetime before getting into automotive. He does a nice job talking about EVSE, charging curves, and his observations driving vehicles. We like him and we are glad he does what he does.
On this he has speculated that there will be permanent damage for Tesla's reputation as well as industry-wide damage. We think this shakeup will not likely yield lasting effects for EV adoption or Supercharger access for participating OEMs.
We understand that our decades of experience working inside OEMs directly with executives leads us to different conclusions that his. We have been in thousands of dealerships, representing automakers as educators and as auditors. We have managed very large teams and served as suppliers for carmakers. We are lifelong insiders coming at this from a different angle.
Its wonderful that you are seeking out different voices as you draw your own conclusions about the advancement of electrification. Thank you for watching and commenting. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Thanks for your reply. I can see how you might have a different opinion than Tom. But, the most significant thing Tom said is that many suppliers are contacting him saying they are very frustrated because their Tesla contact person. is suddenly gone with no warning. I would add that Electrek and Clean Technica folks seem to largely agree with Tom. I have followed the company closely for at least 12 years. A shareholder and Tesla driver since 2014. In the last two years Enol has made it clear that he does not care about the success of Tesla. He clearly violated his fiduciary duty as CEO to this public corporation when he suddenly sold $22billion in Tesla stock, driving the price down to less than a third what it was. It has not yet properly recovered. Can you name another CEO of a publicly traded company that did such a thing but wasnt fired shortly after? Enol then started making controversial political statements on a daily basis, helping to drive away potential customers, therefore lowering revenues and profits. Can you name another CEO who has done such a thing? Can you blame me and Tom for not trusting the guy anymore?
When layoffs happen, it can take a few days or weeks for everything to get up and running again. I fail to see the calamity or confusion in a delay. I doubt that any major business leader lost a wink of sleep over this speedbump affecting 0.3% of Tesla's workforce.
Over the last 12 years you've watched Elon create the most value of any automaker in the history of the industry. He has made more automotive stockholder millionaires than any competitor. Now he is taking the reigns and sending clear messages to gain absolute control during a critical transition to keep the company prosperous.
Anybody can choose not to trust a company. It is an absolute falsehood to state that "nobody will ever trust Tesla again". If that statement were true, the company would be out of business immediately because trust is at the core of every transaction and every moment of service by every employee.
I for one, am not a big fan of false statements. -Producer Tim
I’m done with this channel.
👋 -Producer Tim
I think Tesla is a sustainable transportation company, not a robotics and AI company. We need more Tesla Superchargers faster even if other companies are going to start trying to match quality and quantity. This is a momentum game, and Tesla is dropping the ball by laying off those 500 people. I don't care about autonomous vehicles.
Have you seen the average utilization figures for the Tesla Superchargers? How many hours per day is an average stall generating no income? Elon has stated that overrun stations will continue to be expanded. He stated that stations in progress will be completed. With the NEVI bids only just beginning to roll in, we can safely assume that the world's largest DC fast charging network will continue to improve. Thank you for sharing your views. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric how can we safely assume that? They just fired 500 people on that team.
We can safely assume that because the team was mostly product managers. That is a role which can be performed by recent graduates and Tesla is one of the most sought after employers in America. As stated in this segment, the entire team represents less than one third of one percent of the Tesla workforce. When we consider what Tesla has achieved compared to the trivial nature of this set of tasks, we have no concerns. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric how long do you think Tesla will be considered one of the most sought after employers when entire teams get fired on a whim? Especially now as you and the company are trivializing those roles.
@@CarbonRadio One of the world's most innovative companies. A place where a junior employee can make a huge impact. That is why people want to work at Tesla. The SuperCharger employees lost their jobs because the boss did not do her job.
Funny how most of the manufacturers are killing there own market with silly high prices.
The Tesla Model Y was the best selling car on earth in 2024 and it is currently less expensive than the average gasoline powered vehicle sold in the US. If you live in Colorado or Washington, it's *much* less expensive.
On this show we have covered several EVs with lease prices between $150 and $250 per month. -Producer Tim
Fresh take on the Tesla Supercharger news - appreciate the more analytical assessment. If senior staff does not follow the direction of leadership they are not a good fit, it’s so true.
Rebecca being fired while a shame isn't the news. The elimination of her team is the news.
We can see how this story could become news, if there were any measurable detriments for EV buyers and Tesla drivers. At the moment, there is only speculation that this could yield net harm.
We weren't in the room, but here is a situation we have seen play out before:
Director "I run a tight ship, I cannot do what you've asked. I cannot spare 10% or 15% of my team"
Executive: "You must give me a list which allows me to act surgically or I'll do the job crudely"
Director "I cannot give you a list."
Executive "OK. Thank you for your service. Goodbye."
There are dozens of leaders at Rebecca's level. We suspect they are less likely to make the choice she made.
A good leader does what must be done to maintain control of the ship they steer.
Thank you both for your viewership and for sharing your perspectives. -Producer Tim
When I first listened to this, I was impressed that the description of Musk's actions didn't sugar coat anything--it described it a punitive move to assert dominance. But Producer Tim's defense of it in the comments is strange. Not only stretching to argue that it makes business sense, when it clearly wasn't motivated by that in the first place. But also defending instilling fear as a good management style. Is that what your workplace is like? Do you think that's good?
And now we have Musk hiring people back, underscoring what we already knew: that the move didn't make business sense. I hope that makes you reconsider some of your comments here.
When a leader's team obstructs the strategy, it's a critical problem. There are many leadership styles, and basically all of them have resulted in less progress than what Elon Musk's companies have achieved in their industries. The tactic employed here is directly in line with dozens of stories in the Walter Isaacson biography dating back decades.
It doesn't matter if I would work there or if I think it is nice. My perspective is unusual because I am talking about measurable consequences rather than feelings. The judgement of right or wrong is not my role in this reporting. It can be the viewer's role. Thank you for expressing your feelings on the matter. -Producer Tim
I liked this take on the supercharger news. It is still a bit much and it wasn't the average worker that disobeyed him. And is choose the R1S!
There are some Godfather vibes to sending a message in that way. We suspect other directors are now more likely to comply with the orders.
We own a Rivian R1T and some Teslas. Its wonderful to have options.
As you've likely noticed in our weekly coverage, Rivian has laid off 11% of its workforce so far this year. That is a slightly higher percentage than Tesla's stated layoffs.
None of the Rivian layoff communications leaked and the media isn't privy to what kinds of concentrations there might have been in their departments. Consequently, there were no big stories. We suspect if there were no leaks, nobody would have any idea that the department was wiped out. This kind of thing happens regularly in corporations across sectors. Our aim with this story was to temper the drama and inject some pragmatism.
Thank you for watching and commenting. -Producer Tim
Excellent; with your piece on the Tesla Supercharger situation being the most fulsome and balanced reporting I have seen. Thank you for doing this, I look forward to it.
We've had the opportunity to speak at length with some high ranking Tesla employees who were laid off in this round. We keep hearing that Tesla employees took lower pay to be a part of an organization that moves quickly. Most of them are used to working very hard solving problems many have declared impossible. On top of that, everybody there knows what a force Elon is. He is a blade which cuts in all directions. Rapid progress is often messy.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. We hope to see you again next week. -Producer Tim
The EV world needs to move on from Tesla and diversify with more new charge providers and more brands offering more models.
We are fans of free market competition, too. There are 120 EVs available in the USA. Tesla makes 5 of them. Many of the best EVs in the world are not available in the US. It is certainly a complicated situation. Thank you for watching and commenting. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric thanks Tim! From the outside looking in, it seems the US up in until now has been unhealthily dominated by Tesla. So perhaps Musks’ apparent implosion and the company coming down to Earth will be a net positive in the long run. Keep up the great work.
@@Stan-at-KangarooIslandTV The US is dominated by Tesla because legacy has chosen to produce compliance vehicles and pay what it took to push back emission requirements. Had they been serious about EVs even about EV research there would be no Tesla or Tesla SuperCharging network. Fiefdoms and Silos are ar major reason why US manufactures can not compete with Tesla. Elon eliminated one and sent a warning to would be princes setting up their own realms within Tesla.
Reality does not feel like what you are reporting about the Tesla supercharger situation.
0.03% of the company's employees were let go. Their roles were primarily project management, which is not a difficult role to fill. There have been no negative repercussions for Tesla owners and company leadership has offered written assurance that maintaining the network's uptime and dispenser availability remains a primary focus. In our view, these are the realities. We look forward to considering new material facts you'd like to share. Thank you for commenting. -Producer Tim
It is clear the axing the entire department is spite against the manager that angered Elon. The fact there have been several statements claiming the sky is not falling is evidence that there was no plan, and the chickens are roosting. Also, that there has been no impact on operations is due to maintenance being in a separate group.
This team was involved in arranging the installation. The installation efficiencies do not address coordinating with vendors and utilities. Also, based on reports, there was not attempt at knowledge transfer as there was no communication to the existing partners as to their new contact. The message sent to all possible partners to be patient as they figure out what is actually owed and stop all pending activity does not indicate a plan for this action. Those external partners are going to be more careful when dealing with Tesla in the future which will delay decisions and likely increase cost.
Reducing the size of the team in line with cuts elsewhere is reasonable. To go off half-cocked is not. This will slow the transition to J3400 which will not help the industry in NA. We need to finish consolidating on a single connection standard.
Thanks for sharing your views. -Producer Tim
Elon will now use AI to deploy Supercharging and with AI Auto Taxis will remove the need for the human element to purchase cars.
During the earnings call, he did suggest that the business model will change drastically in response to questions about how long it would take China to copy Tesla's manufacturing technology. We appreciate your having taken the time to share your perspective. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric So long as China is willing and able to highly subdise EV manufacturing no amount of efficient manufacturing can overcome their advantage. China has been much more able than western experts suggested.
You are right about that, and US Automakers have helped themselves to hundreds of billions in subsidies over the last few years, too. Federal, state, and county incentives to built, design, and sell plus battery production, research grants, consumer rebates, and "loans" that get quietly forgiven on a busy news day.
www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-offers-12-billion-automakers-suppliers-make-advanced-vehicles-2023-08-31/
www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/biden-administration-aims-2-bln-grants-us-electric-vehicle-transition-2023-06-28/
It will be interesting to see what happens with these two:
electrek.co/2022/12/12/gm-lg-battery-factories-2/
www.canarymedia.com/articles/batteries/doe-offers-record-breaking-9-2b-loan-to-build-ev-batteries-in-the-us
Acura vs Model X….. I’ll take the X.
Your killin' me Rocky! I said Lyriq v ZDX lol
@@MissGoElectric I'd also still take the Model X, or Cybertruck, or S or Y or 3. 🙂
Well, if history shows anything about Elonish ego-knee-jerk moves, they are usually followed by a "let's put a couple of those back" period shortly thereafter.
You've got it. The engineering philosophy works for any system. Strip parts until there is instability, then add back only what is required. We agree that elegance and efficiency are worthy objectives in most disciplines. Thank you for contributing your thoughts. -Producer Tim
ua-cam.com/video/rlUOS-eo9Ck/v-deo.html
I wonder if some of these influencers are not compensated in some fashion by Tesla. They almost sound like they work for them. Like Sandy Monroe even went on a big tirade against Disney (which has absolutely nothing to do with EVs). Did he do it just to please Elon? And this influencer cuts off mid-sentence and said the "network would continue to expand" while not saying "but at a slower pace" which is how the sentence ended. It's like they are doing everything to help the Tesla stock price and please Elon.
Miss GoElectric has no affiliation with Tesla whatsoever. Personally, she drives a Rivian R1T. This series delivers facts. There are others who offer speculation and sensationalism. We have different audiences. -Producer Tim
twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1788834859110002716?t=XDolmiJyefAmjSJKP4Hdfw&s=19
A mercurial, erratic business leader is not someone I or anyone making expensive business decisions will trust. Trust broken will be expensive for Tesla to regain. Tesla’s reputation as a stable business partner for charging station contractors, other auto makers, and utility companies has been damage due to an emotional outburst from yet another stable genius. And the end user customer of Tesla vehicles will look elsewhere.
We've certainly heard the viewpoint you are expressing from many other sources. Thanks for taking the time to articulate your opinion. -Producer Tim
Enjoy the show but the Tesla segment was a bit odd, like yiur rationalizing musks irrational decisions for him.
There is no shortage of media related to this subject emphasizing the magnitude of this catastrophic error. Based on headlines and podcast bloviation, one might think the Supercharger network has evaporated or even stalled out. In reality, the work continues and it will be done by different employees. The network has not been disrupted. We took the opportunity to tamp down the sensationalism around this topic with some pragmatism.
We make no bones about it, leadership made an example for other directors who might consider pushing back. It was forceful and very sad for people who must find new jobs. That said, this is not shocking behavior from Elon. It would not have been shocking from Steve Jobs either. These kinds of leaders attract talent and they do so under no false pretenses. Stability is not guaranteed at Tesla, but progress is. -Producer Tim
Tesla will rebound. All companies go through their slump at some point, at least the cycle of business for most companies, in my opinion.
It will also rebound because leadership has more visibility than journalists and armchair experts. Leadership is acting on a strategy and has shown that they are serious about executing upon it. Thank you for sharing your comment and optimism. We hope you'll return next week.
-Producer Tim
While I enjoy listening every week, this time you sound like the Tesla public relations department. Why are you agreeing so much with this knee-jerk implosion. Removing the most successful department will not only hurt the company, but also the entire EV industry trying to switch charging standards. In order to increase EV adoption, we need broader infrastructure especially for 40% of US population that are unable to charge at home. Now, those on the fence will definitely buy ICE vehicles.
To cut costs, Tesla should have canceled models S/X instead of disbanding this shining star. Clearly, this will reverse the transition to sustainable energy. Tesla needs a new mission statement.
Please don’t say it’s because of robo-taxi because that’s 5-10 years away due to government regulations. We won’t be sending our EVs to the recycling plant any time soon.
We know that the department was not removed. People were removed. Leadership has assured that the network quality will continue to improve. As we said in the segment, the workload will be absorbed without much fanfare. In fact, we suspect the new team will handle the administration and project management in a more cost effective manner.
500 people is a drop in the bucket compared to 140k employees and hundreds of thousands of applications in the queue. We suspect the job can be done with far fewer workers. This is not the kind of work which will be difficult to absorb.
We have no association with Tesla. We are closely aligned with the values of rationality and pragmatism.
We take the big picture, a personal shakeup constituting 0.3% of a company is not consequential. We understand that fear and drama are the more common response to this story. We also understand that most people think this sort of tightening of the leash happens within big companies on a regular basis. We suspect other department leaders will be more likely to comply with the directives after this move.
That said, we are grateful for your comments and perspective. We won't all agree all of the time. Most of us in the comments care about the advancement of electrification. That unites us. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric Appreciate your reply. We think all of the site acquisition and field deployment teams were dismissed so Tesla can’t add any additional charging infrastructure. The layoff also included engineers responsible for supercharger compatibility with other EV brands. Now it will take several years before your GM, BMW, MB, Hyundai, Kia, VW, etc can charge at a supercharger.
Elon Musk committed in writing that company will continue add sites and improve uptime. We'll see if you are right about it taking "several years" to add more automakers. I fully expect GM and Polestar to be using Superchargers before Halloween. Lets revisit this forecast later on. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric I hope you are right.
@@MissGoElectric Elon committed in writing that funding was secured. That got him into a tad bit of trouble. Sorry words are cheap, I read his supercharger commentary as damage control, not strategic vision. You are welcome to disagree.
Great job again Miss Go Electric…ignore the haters, your Tesla info was informed, not biased.
We are happy you have taken the time to offer your reassurance. We know that people have a lot of emotions around Tesla and many have been whipped into a frenzy by speculation they've encountered elsewhere. We hope pragmatic optimism will find an audience. We'll keep striving to find out. -Producer Tim
You look at Elon's hate filled political statements, the on again and off again model 2, Elon's fixation with robo-taxis and robots, and I have to wonder if Elon is getting bored with EVs and is becoming unhinged.
Elon's personality is only important to us if it directly affects electric vehicle adoption. It is our position that this personnel shakeup will not significantly affect the industry. -Producer Tim
No one with any common sense or brains is going to go from a Tesla to a Cadillac lyric or a Acura!
What are these companies smoking?
Thanks for watching!
-Producer Tim
You asked for my thoughts on Tesla SC firing …….. What a lousy, unprofessional, dastardly way to treat your employees; I don’t expect any better from Mucks!
Your point is well received. Every single employee at Tesla understands who Elon is, just as Apple employees understood who Steve Jobs was.
A trailblazer carries a machete, and they use in many ways to progress. Thanks for commenting.
-Producer Tim
Is the premise of this channel is that the USA is the only important market? It is clearly NOT the most up to date information anywhere. It is entirely about the USA. The USA EV market is about the same size as the European market. While Asia, are also important, China is larger than all of than both Europe and the US market combined. So just a small oversight, then? Right!
We are a USA based two-person operation covering our area of expertise. We cover electrification news which affects the US market. -Producer Tim
@@MissGoElectric The channel is interesting as an insight into the USA. The USA excludes several brands. It therefore makes sense to make that clear in the introduction.
With only ten minutes, a great many suppositions about the sophistication of our audience are required. We identified exclusionary practices within the argument rather than ahead of it. We hope our audience found the piece to be clear and concise. -Producer Tim
The takeaway: If you work for Elon you better kick-down and kiss-up. He is not listening to you or your colleagues. This is not the way to run a great company. Shades of Jack Welch.
Or shades of Steve Jobs. Leaders who care about the mission do what needs to be done in order to maintain control and execute on strategies. Sometimes that means sending strong messages.
Many people would be surprised how often this kind of punitive action takes place. Usually it isn't leaked or sensationalized. We acknowledged that this is unfortunate for those laid off, but we do not share the view that this will do lasting damage to the company or user experience. From 30,000 feet, we think this is a drop which barely makes a ripple.
If Tesla were run the way others run a company, it would not be beating those other companies.
Miss GoElectric has no affiliation or investment with Tesla. It is our aim to infuse pragmatism. We understand that outrage and speculation have an audience, too... but we'll stick to rational optimism. -Producer Tim
And,,,,, GE hasn’t been the same without Jack. It’s a shadow of its former self now.
The greatest most longest lasting companies are often run by leaders who have high expectations that others see as cold hearted.
@@MissGoElectricwell said Tim!
@@MissGoElectricI'm confused. Was this leaked or was it 'sending a strong message'? Elon did nothing brilliant here. Tesla wasn't making its numbers. Productivity was not where it was promised to be, 10% off. The simple fix is to layoff 10% of the workforce. It happens all the time, often because of C-level strategy mistakes. A good CEO would eat crow and do their best to minimize the pain. Instead, Elon was petulant and vindictive toward a senior executive. My guess is this senior executive understood the situation and was not squeamish about trimming workforce. This is part of that job. Rather, there was a strategy disagreement. Did they talk it out? Did they understand each others positions? Were alternatives proposed? Evidently not. I'm just glad I do not work for that guy and I'm sure he is too. I wish the senior executive and all her team the best of luck. Most should have no trouble finding employers who value their contributions.
This was a strong message sent by a company leader to his subordinates. This internal personnel shakeup was not intended to be a public confrontation, as is usually the case.
Elon is a known quantity. Failing to deliver what he has asked for completely and on time has always been a bad idea. This was also the case with Steve Jobs and many other visionary leaders of highly disruptive companies.
You are right that there are other ways to manage a company. Thousands of CEOs would do it differently. By any metric, all of them have achieved less than Elon Musk has achieved. Perhaps there is a correlation?
You are right that Tesla employees typically have no trouble finding work elsewhere. We've spoken at length to a few high ranking employees laid off during this round. Surprisingly, they've indicated enduring respect for Elon and continued reverence for the Tesla mission. In many cases, the people chosen to work at Tesla are the cream of the crop. They accept lower wages, less stability, and greater difficulty in order to be a part of Tesla's achievements. It seems to me that Elon's strengths and weaknesses are a well known quantity in the decision to work at Tesla. -Producer Tim