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Runtime: 11:06
0:00 Tesla Axes 10% Of Workforce, Slashes FSD Price
1:31 BP Pulse Cuts 10% Of Workers
2:04 Honda On Pace to Start U.S. EV Production In 2025
2:59 UAW Votes at VW This Week
3:41 Magna to Test Humanoid Robots at Production Sites
4:59 Tesla’s Extraordinary Design Evolution
7:06 Chery To Sign Deal with Premium European Brand
7:46 Cadillac Reveals New Optiq Interior
8:22 Dongfeng’s Wild Off-Road EV May Come to Market
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TESLA AXES 10% OF WORKFORCE, SLASHES FSD PRICE
We start out this week with a lot of bad news on the EV front. First off, Tesla announced it’s laying off 10% of its global workforce, which would translate to about 14,000 employees. That’s almost as much as Rivian’s total workforce, which is about 16,800 people. Also, Tesla cut the monthly subscription fee for Full Self Driving in half. Prior to this, owners paid $199 a month for FSD. Now it’s down to $99. FSD was part of the justification for Tesla’s massive market cap, but the stock price is down 30% this year. On top of that there’s no construction going on at its plant site in Mexico, and Mexican officials complain they can’t get any answers from Tesla or Musk. That plant was reportedly going to be the site for Tesla’s revolutionary assembly process, what it calls unboxed assembly. And that was going to be key for developing an inexpensive EV with good profit margins. But then Musk said the first line for the $25,000 car would be in Austin, followed by Mexico. And all this comes on the heels of reports that Tesla is now canceling its affordable EV, though Elon Musk denies that.
BP PULSE CUTS 10% OF WORKERS
BP, the oil giant, is also laying off 10% of the people it has working on EV chargers in the business unit called BP Pulse. Specifically, it laid off 100 of the 900 employees there. And it pulled out of 8 countries where an expected surge in commercial EVs for fleet customers never materialized. BP Pulse says it will concentrate on the U.S., UK, Chinese and German markets, which is where EVs are growing the fastest.
HONDA ON PACE TO START U.S. EV PRODUCTION IN 2025
But it’s not all gloom and doom on the EV front. Honda is plunging ahead on its EV investments in Ohio. It’s consolidating its two assembly lines at its Marysville plant into one line. That will enable it to make ICE and EVs on that one line. It’s also retooling its Anna engine plant to bring in six 6,000 ton die casting machines to make battery cases. The aluminum cases will be cast in two pieces and friction stir welded together. All those investments come to $700 million, and another $4.4 billion is going into a battery cell plant that it’s building with LG. Honda will start making EVs in Ohio next year, with a goal of reaching 85% BEV sales in 2035 and 100% by 2040.
UAW VOTES AT VW THIS WEEK
It’s a big week for the UAW. Volkswagen workers in Tennessee will cast votes Wednesday through Friday on whether or not they want to join the union. If they do, it would be the only foreign auto plant in the U.S. represented by the union. The UAW also filed a petition earlier this month with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union vote at Mercedes’ plant in Alabama. The UAW hopes these votes will be a springboard to organize more non-unionized plants around the country. But it hasn’t succeeded in past efforts to organize non-union plants, so this is going to be fascinating to see what happens.
MAGNA TO TEST HUMANOID ROBOTS AT PRODUCTION SITES
But maybe the UAW better pay attention to this next story. More and more automakers are starting to test humanoid robots on the production line. BMW announced earlier this year it will start training robots at its plant in South Carolina over the next two years. Chinese automaker Nio is testing humanoid robots at one of its plants. And Tesla of course is developing its own robot called Optimus. But it’s not just automakers that are interested in humanoid robots, the supplier Magna is planning to test them at its manufacturing facilities. The robots were developed by a startup called Sanctuary AI, from Vancouver, which Magna has been an investor in since 2021. Magna didn’t reveal specifically where, when or what purpose the robots will be used but it did say they’ll be used “across multiple applications within automotive manufacturing processes.”
TESLA’S EXTRAORDINARY DESIGN EVOLUTION
After Friday’s show last week, John and I were invited back to vehicle benchmarking specialist Caresoft to continue to follow them on their teardown of the Tesla Cybertruck. We thank some of the team there for laying out parts of the systems for display because it made it really easy to demonstrate the evolution of the Tesla brand, not just compared to legacy automakers but also itself. I think the best example might be its approach to the auxiliary battery. Everybody has always used a 12-volt lead-acid battery, which Tesla did as well, for a while. But by the time the Model Y rolled around, it was ready to make a change, and more importantly as Caresoft President Terry Woychowski points out, listen to how fast it made that change.
This all comes down to Tesla’s first principles thinking, breaking down previous assumptions or barriers to create truly innovative solutions. So, it dumped the industry-standard lead-acid for a lithium-ion battery and it also boosted voltage from 12 up to 16. That significantly cut weight and size and you can see those same principles applied to the 48-volt battery of the Cybertruck. You can see even more of this in the video with John and Terry, but there’s also some other areas where the Cybertruck might not be the breakthrough of efficiency like the Model 3 or Y.
CHERY TO SIGN DEAL WITH PREMIUM EUROPEAN BRAND
Chinese automaker Chery is making a big push into the European car market. It’s nearing a deal to start building vehicles in Spain. And now the company’s chairman says it’s going to sign a deal with a premium European brand to share its platform. That deal is expected to be announced sometime this week. Chery didn’t say what brand it is but it does have a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover to build its vehicles in China, so that’s a possibility. Chery’s chairman also said it’s in talks with another premium European brand for platform sharing and it’s in talks with two other brands for possible partnerships.
CADILLAC REVEALS NEW OPTIQ INTERIOR
Cadillac revealed the interior of its upcoming small electric crossover, the Optiq. The dashboard appears large and seems to jut out over the passenger’s legs. At first I thought the piece that sticks out in the middle of the dash was a place to rest and charge your phone, but it’s a styling element for one of the vents and also houses the HVAC controls. And like the Lyriq it has a large curved display screen. The Optiq is built on the same platform as the Chevy Equinox EV and Buick Electra E4 and should be on sale before the end of the year.
DONGFENG’S WILD OFF-ROAD EV MAY COME TO MARKET
Here’s a cool-looking off-road EV that actually has a chance of making it to the market. It’s the M-HUNTER from luxury off-road brand M-HERO, which is part of Chinese automaker Dongfeng. The details are few right now. It’s only using flashy wording, like military-grade technology and aerospace-grade carbon fiber, but Gasgoo reports there are plans to put it into production. M-HERO currently has one other vehicle, the 917, a large SUV that’s offered as a BEV and an extended range electric vehicle. The BEV has a 4-motor setup with 1,088 horsepower and will do 0-60 in 4.2 seconds. The EREV has 816 horsepower, over 1,000 kilometers or 620 miles of range and roughly $90,000 starting price tag. The 917 is just making its way to the European market on top of China and we would expect a similar setup and market launch for the M-HUNTER.
But that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for making Autoline a part of your day.
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Maybe it’s just me but I have a hard time paying for things I can do myself. Especially simple things like driving. I actually enjoy driving and even on a long trip I can’t imagine paying $200 a month for a system that still requires me to be paying attention and be prepared to take over at any moment. At that point I might as well just drive myself.
So, dropping the price in half to $100 a month is still a no go for me. It would have to be an option that I paid for at the time of purchase and to be honest I still probably wouldn’t get it unless it was like a few hundred bucks. Just more sensors and systems to break fail and need replacing.
Tesla has been really quiet since the launch of the CT. Never did get word on how many takers upped from the $100 refundable deposit to the $1000 non-refundable deposit. Humm I take it they just didn’t want people to know.
I know it’s sounding like a day to bash Tesla but it seems that Elon was in trouble before with the Federal Trade commission for tweeting (xxing)? out things that would manipulate stock price before, and so I’m not sure where he denied the allegations that the Model 2 were canceled. But when that’s the word and he is denying it, it sure sounds like an effort to maintain stock value.
Doesn’t Porsche own the rights for the number 917? I understood that they owned most of the 900 series numbers except the ones with a 0 in the middle (owned by Peugeot)
I just read that the Porsche 911 was going to be a 901, except Peugeot already had claim to three digit designations with a middle zero. All of the Porsche model numbers, except 911 seem to be even numbers, like 914, 924, 928, 944, 964, 968, but they use some odd numbers starting with 9 for internal codes.
Tesla employee reductions:
2017: 2%
2018: 9%
2019: 7%
2022: 10%
2024 10%
Tesla’s revamped FSD (new plumbing) is really impressive, while likely having the potential to improve faster and more consistently from now on, but that doesn’t mean people are ready to pay $99 per month for the privilege of hands-free supervising.
We’ll hopefully find out soon enough at what price the take rate soars.
Does anyone here know how much the FSD sensors and other hardware add to the cost of building the car?
If you want to see a truly amazing electric off-road vehicle then check out the Russian made eBRO, this is the off-road vehicle I would buy if I won the lottery and Russian vehicles were again available to US citizens. It is also available in a diesel and diesel electric hybrid version, so whatever powertrain tickles your fancy the makers of the BRO have you covered.
Of what I’m finding, Ebro is Spanish, not Russian. Are there two Ebros?
@Lambo I am with you on “auto pilot”. I have tried it many times and it is tiring for me because you have to take over all the time and I want to make sure I don’t miss something.
@Sean Wagner: thanks for showing those figures, I had no idea
@Kit on cost for sensors, etc.: probably very little extra cost
@Kit on Ebro. Ebro is a river in Northern Spain.
@”military-grade technology and aerospace-grade carbon fiber”: even my TUMI travel bags are made of “Ballistic Nylon”. So when you see me at the airport, feel free to shoot at me.
VW workers better be careful what they vote for. . They may wind up voting themselves out of a job. VW isn’t exactly setting the world on fire sales wise. The lure of more money is great if it lasts. maybe they should ask California fast food workers how a big pay raise helped them right to the unemployment line.
Kit what about the Porsche 935 and 959 those are odd number models
Kit, try the link below or search on YouTube for Russian ATV ELECTRIC BRO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4h8GOrU3p8&pp=ygUYUnVzc2lhbiBhdHYgQlJPIGVsZWN0cmlj
The BRO looks like a Sherp but is electric drive and way easier to use.
This is what I found regarding Ebro vehicles:
https://ebro.es/pickup
The Russian thing is cool, and looks capable of going about anywhere. Skid steer is not very efficient, but it provides some special capabilities.
XA351GT, yeah, I was thinking of the more “mainstream” Porsche sports cars which seemed to have even number names. Didn’t think of 935 and 959.
I expect that between the big headline layoffs Tesla has hired a bunch of people. Would be interesting to know the total headcount in 2020, 2022 and now after this recent purge.
I have always found the registering of numbers to be even sillier than registering names, which I find silly enough. Used to be critical but not now when even companies that ‘own’ the name ruin their value to the public. As an example, Ford using Mustang for their EV. Lack of imagination IMHO.
Wow, that was something I didn’t see coming! With all the talk of Chinese vehicles coming to ‘shores near you’, I didn’t think they would back door their way in, by letting OEMs already in those markets use their platforms. So that, once those automakers start using and selling vehicles using those platforms, it would be difficult for them to take a stand pressure their government(s) to not let the Chinese companies sell directly, now that they have an argument and are using their IP and vehicle platforms! While others are taking the approach of building assembly plants in the countries they want to be business in, but entering a strategic partnership or JV with a storied but struggling brand like Jaguar/JLR or McLaren, is a plot twist didn’t see coming.
Ziggy, that BRO ATV is something else. There aren’t many places it wouldn’t go, except on steep hills, where it turn over or wheelie over. It needs that short wheelbase for the skid steer to work.
Abemarle, I agree on registering names and numbers being silly. Two of the Edsel trim level names, Pacer and Citation must not have been claimed by Ford, but the others, Ranger and Corsair were revived by Ford years later.
The Tesla headcount has of course risen overall, successive bouts of downward adaptation notwithstanding. But for sheer mass of the workforce, BYD and VW take the cake. Even when you take manufacturing depth into account.
As far as cost of sensors is concerned, it’s really very low. (Btw, the Taiwanese development of very-high grade smartphone plastic lenses was one breakthrough that mainland China has been trying to steal.)
By far the costliest part of the (Tesla) system would have to be in the processing (also dual-redundant, btw).
V12 FSD is only being rolled out slowly, to select drivers in NA, as per usual. The advantage Tesla has over the competition is in the sheer amount of active computing nodes (aka cars being driven around) hoovering up data. How modern AI works isn’t a big secret – and what you want to leverage is appropriate information in vast quantities.
“how much the FSD sensors and other hardware add to the cost of building the car?”
I have one data point payed on eBay: “Tesla Model 3 S X Y Bumper Parking Ultrasonic PDC Sensor Deep Blue Color US $29.99.” I held off repairing as the newer Model 3 do not have them but the software complained.
1) One of eight ultrasonic sensors (eBay $30 each)
2) Original radar is ignored but a new one may return (original eBay ~$100-200)
3) Three front cameras are now two with higher resolution (three camera ebay ~$300)
4) Four side cameras (eBay ~$80 each)
I’m not sure how much more Tesla assembles in-house opposed to the other OEMs but there does seem to be less out-sourcing. So its hard to make an apples to apples comparison but Tesla has a lot more employees per plant than most other OEMs. But everyone was saying how much easier a labor could be saved building EVs. Not really seeing that yet and Tesla likely needs to start working at being more efficient. The layoffs are probably more of an effort to trim the waste as things are about to get real competitive for Tesla and I doubt has much to do with EV interest waning.
Thanks for all the info about the cost of sensors.
Tesla has more vertical integration than most car companies, accounting for the relatively high number of employees/car built.
XA351GT, Yeah, the more “mainstream” Porsche sport cars with even numbers are what came to mind to me. I’d kind of forgotten about Porsche 935 and 959, a race car, and very low volume road car with a 7 figure price tag.
Whatever happens with the union at VW, the company has mostly abandoned their former fans. The regular Golf, Jetta wagon, Passat, and Passat wagon are gone. The GTI and Golf R will be automatic only next year. From what I read, the CUVs they sell in the US are nothing special, nor is the Jetta.
Bob, regarding camera sensors, remember that your average smartphone now has 2-4 built in. Those things have become very cheap for OEMs buying them in lots of 10K+.
FSD costs are likely to be similar to prescription drugs. The cost isn’t in the manufacturing of the system or sensors and cameras but them trying to recoup those years of R&D. I would bet a self-driving system probably doesn’t cost the manufacturer more than $1000 in equipment, wiring and installation. It’s the software to run it all, and programs are cheap once they are complete. It’s getting them completed that eats up the $$.
I suspect Tesla will adjust the charge for FSD up and down, to try to maximize income from it. They might have more than 10 times as many takers at $10/month than at $100/month. I don’t think I’d pay $100 month, even if it were actually full self driving, unless you can subscribe day by day. I’d pay for it 4 days a year, if it would drive me between Florida and Indiana while I sleep.
A few years ago Intel tried to copyright the number 586 but was denied. They then coined a different design action and called it Pentium.
How can anyone “own” a number?
I think I will register the number.ber “2025” and demand a royalty every time it is used!