Tesla's hiring freeze, Trump vs. Biden on EVs, and Nissan's big profits: Autos news roundup
Plus, a Hyundai-backed self-driving car startup flounders while a British rival thrives
It’s been another whirlwind of a week at Tesla. The electric vehicle company has continued its sweeping layoffs — both in the U.S. and China — and taken down all but a handful of job postings worldwide. Plus, Elon Musk’s statements about Tesla’s self-driving technology are being investigated by U.S. prosecutors; federal auto safety regulators have also set a July deadline for Tesla to deliver a deluge of information related to the Autopilot driver assistance system.
Wayve, a British self-driving car startup, secured $1 billion in funding from Japan’s Softbank, Microsoft, and Nvidia. On the other side of the pond, Boston-based and Hyundai Motor Co.-backed Motional is delaying the rollout of its own autonomous taxis. And Chinese premium EV brand Zeekr is eyeing a pricy initial public offering, while Nissan touts its success everywhere but in China’s auto market and Tesla’s sales sink.
Former president Donald Trump has also made a major offer to oil executives — raise $1 billion to get him back into the White House and consider President Joe Biden’s pro-EV and environmental policies canceled.
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If there’s one thing everyone in politics can agree on it’s this — everything has a price. And ex-president Donald Trump has reportedly slapped a $1 billion price tag on removing his rival’s pro-electric vehicle and environmental policies.
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Elon Musk’s comments about Tesla’s self-driving technology have landed him in hot water with the Feds — again. The Department of Justice is reportedly examining whether Musk and Tesla’s comments about the company’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology constitute securities fraud or wire fraud.
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Tesla is a massive company, employing 140,000 people as of late last year. But over the past month, layoffs have torn through the electric vehicle maker — and now a hiring freeze appears to be in effect in North America.
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Wayve, a British startup developing self-driving vehicles, has made history with the U.K.’s largest-ever fundraising for an artificial intelligence firm.
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Hyundai Motor Co. and Aptiv’s self-driving car joint venture is pausing its operations, delaying commercialization plans, and laying off employees, according to the startup’s CEO.
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Nissan Motor Co. had a pretty good fiscal 2023. Sales grew in all but one major market — China, where Nissan has struggled to match local rivals.
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Geely-owned Zeekr has officially moved to land on the New York Stock Exchange after months of discussions, making it the latest Chinese automaker to try and go public in the U.S.
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Tesla retained its position as China’s second-largest seller of electric vehicles last month, even as its sales went down in the world’s largest auto market.
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Tesla’s sweeping layoffs are reportedly escalating at the electric vehicle maker’s plant in Shanghai.
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Tesla has less than two months to respond to inquires from U.S. auto safety regulators about its December recall of more than 2 million electric vehicles.
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Elon Musk’s “absolutely hardcore” layoffs won’t stop coming as Tesla employees announce their terminations on social media.