Tesla's Elon Musk bets on driverless, Volkswagen bets on China, EV demand roars back: Autos news roundup
Plus, Honda and Toyota invest billions into North America, and the UAW gets a big win
Don’t worry, Tesla investors. Even if Elon Musk disappears — whether kidnapped by aliens or the Terminator — his company will still figure out driverless cars, according to the firebrand CEO.
That was one of several takeaways from Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, which provided the stock with a much-needed boost after a week marked by layoffs and a postponed potential announcement in India. The electric vehicle company also slashed the cost of its cars and Full Self-Driving technology ahead of Tuesday.
Honda Motor and Toyota Motor are investing more cash in North American EV production as a multinational agency forecasts that more than 1 in 5 cars sold around the world in 2024 are expected to be electric. And Volkswagen, fresh off a union victory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is focusing its efforts on getting a bigger slice of the Chinese market.
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Toyota Motor and Honda Motor are the latest automakers to plan billions of dollars in electric vehicle-related investments in North America as experts predict EV demand to spike.
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Volkswagen aims to launch dozens of new cars — including several electric models — in China by 2030 as part of an ambitious plan to conquer more of the world’s largest auto market.
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SpaceX founder Elon Musk doesn’t believe aliens exist. But if aliens did roam the stars, not even they could stop Tesla from launching self-driving “cybercabs” — or so he says.
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More than 1 in 5 cars sold around the world in 2024 are expected to be electric — and demand is poised to surge higher the next decade, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
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Tesla’s woes to start 2024 are many and ongoing — but that doesn’t mean the world’s most valuable automaker is stopping. Tesla stock soared as high as 16% after Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company reported quarterly earnings that revealed a 9% year-over-year revenue decline — its biggest drop since 2012.
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Tesla last week issued sweeping layoffs which tanked its stock and confirmed analysts’ assertions that the company is struggling with low demand.
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Tesla has cut prices across several of its major markets — including China, Germany, and the U.S. — to combat slowing demand for electric vehicles ahead of a major earnings report.
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After years of waiting — and lobbying — to set up shop in India, it looks like Tesla is content to wait a little bit longer.
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Workers at Volkswagen’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have voted to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. It’s the UAW’s latest victory in its long road to its goal of organizing every manufacturing plant operated by a major automaker in the United States.