The company has a rough year ahead.

When Tesla releases its first quarter earnings this afternoon, the company’s CEO Elon Musk will field the usual questions about new products, new factories, and progress toward its futuristic vision of self-driving cars and robot workers. But Musk will also face increasingly urgent questions about its current state of affairs — and why everything seems to be going to shit.

Earlier this month, the company reported its first year-over-year sales drop in four years, a sign of rougher waters ahead. Tesla’s stock has fallen more than 40 percent since the start of the year, including a 13 percent drop in the last week. The company laid off over 14,000 employees last week, 10 percent of its global workforce — which could end up being closer to 20 percent when all’s said and done, according to Bloomberg. Today’s earnings report is expected to include Tesla’s lowest profit margins in six years, a sign that rampant price-cutting continues to exact a toll.

  • Flying SquidEnglish
    16•2 months ago

    I wouldn’t set one foot in those cars.

    The employee training the company offers is “woefully inadequate,” Reveal reported in its investigation. Turley told me she was never taught how to do her job and only shown videos that included a history of the plant and information about Tesla, but nothing about the work she would be doing. “You pretty much have to learn from the people that’s in there,” she said. Cleon Waters also said in his filing that he was never given any training for his job assembling parts of car motors. California safety regulators cited Tesla eight times for deficient training between 2013 and 2018.

    https://www.thenation.com/article/society/tesla-racism-sexual-harassment/

    (Warning: this whole article is awful and infuriating.)

    • @[email protected]English
      3•2 months ago

      Cars and car companies suck. If I could lug all my sports shit around in an e-bike I would.

      I imagine the conditions aren’t great at all these “American” car plants which are conveniently located in Mexico for maximum abuse of labor.

      I’m not saying you’re wrong, there just needs to be alternatives in order for consumers to vote with their wallet on these issues.

      For something like a car which is not optional for me, it’s either an ICE from a scummy car dealer with a scummy company behind them that uses questionable labor practices, or an EV from a scummy car dealer with a scummy company behind them that uses questionable labor practices, or an EV from a company with a scummy CEO that uses questionable labor practices. At least with a Tesla you can cut out some of the scumbags? I’d be interested in Rivian too if I could afford one but they start at 70k.

      • Flying SquidEnglish
        10•2 months ago

        I’m sorry, the response to ‘these people are making cars without being trained’ should not be ‘cars and car companies suck’ because that would not be the case in any other car company.

        Teslas are rolling deathtraps.

        • @[email protected]English
          3•2 months ago

          You seem to be missing the point. Show me a car company that’s not screwing over the consumers and the workforce, and I’ll buy from them. Not every consumer has the luxury of maximizing altruism with their car purchase. At least those supposedly untrained employees are US citizens getting paid a US wage. Do you honestly think that things are better at the Mexican plants?

          Maybe Honda and Toyota or Subaru? But they’ve been too busy sucking off the oil industry with their hydrogen push, and now their EV offerings can’t compete.

            • @[email protected]English
              2•2 months ago

              Replies to a thread with lots of well-thought out comments with some BS and doesn’t even elaborate.