What In The World Is Going On In The World Of Tesla?
Some think those of us here at CleanTechnica are a bunch of Tesla fanboys. Others are convinced we loath Tesla and take every opportunity to bash the company. Neither is true. We are passionate supporters of the EV revolution who think it is insanity to torture the Earth to extract petroleum, transport it to refineries, distribute it, and then burn it in machines that at best are 30% efficient. If there are other civilizations out there, they must mock humans for wasting nearly all of the energy available to us in such a profligate manner.
If Tesla is committed to ending that madness, we are all for it. But if it is merely a way for a 52-year-old man-child to throw gigantic temper tantrums, then quite frankly, we are happy to see it pass from the scene so the world can usher in whatever is next. Unfortunately, based on the machinations and fulminations of Elon Musk since the Q1 earnings call in April, the tea leaves seem to be pointing to a downward spiral and the possible collapse of Tesla as a leading manufacturer of electric vehicles.
Tesla Losing Top Executives
On what do we base our prognostication? Supposition, mostly. It is hard to explain in rational terms why Elon would fire 10 percent of the Tesla workforce and announce it in the middle of the night. Now the internet is buzzing with rumors — as yet unconfirmed — that up to 20 percent of the remaining jobs at Tesla may be on the chopping block as well.
It appears the head off the Supercharger team, Rebecca Tinucci, was instructed by Musk to trim her department. But she didn’t respond fast enough for Musk, who then proceeded to dismantle virtually the whole team while ushering Tinucci out the door, presumably as punishment for being slow to execute his commands. Car and Driver says some reports suggest the layoffs specifically target the site acquisition, project management, and marketing teams, but many others say nearly all of Tinucci’s staff lost their jobs.
The inference is that you either do what Musk says or heads will roll. In addition to Tinucci, Drew Baglino, head of battery development, has left the company among dark mutterings from Elon that his ideas never worked. Is that a reference to the 4680 battery cells that were supposed to revolutionize the EV industry? We may never know, as reliable information from inside the Tesla ecosphere is as scarce as common sense on college campuses. Also exiting the company was Rohan Patel, head of policy and planning. The company has not publicly named a successor for either.
It’s really hard sometimes not to compare Musk’s behavior to that of the Queen of Hearts in Alice In Wonderland. Take a look at this snippet and see if you don’t agree there is disturbing parallel between the two.
The Tesla Supercharger Imbroglio
All these moves have left the world of electric cars in turmoil. This was supposed to be the year that Tesla was going to open its Supercharger network to other makes and models. Ford has already gotten access. GM was supposed to be next, but now everything is up in the air and no one seems to know if more cars will be allowed to use the Supercharger network or not. Chaos and uncertainty are usually the last things companies want when attempting to convince people to adopt new technologies, but Musk seems to thrive on them. It’s almost as if he is deliberately putting obstacles in the path of the EV revolution.
Musk is not above being petty. The company reported lower sales and lower profits in the first quarter and Musk seems to have reacted as if the slowdown was a personal insult to him and his exaggerated sense of self. Nothing can ever be his fault, so it must be someone else’s fault — more than enough reason why heads should roll. He also was apparently snubbed recently by the Biden administration when he was not invited to join a new panel of AI business leaders. Expanding EV charging in America is a top priority for Joe Biden. Could this be Elon’s way of giving the Biden administration the finger for that perceived insult? Anything is possible when we let our egos control our decision making.
There are billions of dollars just waiting for Tesla for expanding its charging network, but the company has cancelled several Supercharger installations that were about to begin construction. There is a hint in the air that Elon is punishing some enemies, real or imagined. When you are microdosing your way through the day, rationality may take a back seat to veniality.
Tom Zhu is a Chinese national who was in charge of getting the Shanghai factory built and into production. As a reward, he was invited to come out the US and be Musk’s Number Two in charge of production. It was rumored that Zhu would be in charge of the Austin Gigafactory and oversee the forthcoming factory in Nuevo Lèon, Mexico. But now it seems the Mexican factory is on hold as Musk bounces back and forth between development of less expensive models and building a fleet of robotaxis. Why build more cars if you can’t sell the ones you are making already? Now Investor’s Business Daily reports that Tom Zhu is out as Elon’s right-hand man and will return to China in some as yet unspecified role.
The Tesla board of directors is, as usual, completely silent about any of the chaos going on around them. They know if they dare challenge the great man, they will be summarily removed from the board and all their lucrative compensation packages will be cancelled, probably by an email at 3:00 am. And so they lay down and let Musk walk all over them without a peep of protest. They are a board of directors in name only. In reality, they are highly paid lackeys who are expected to jump when Musk tells them to and ask how high on the way up.
A New Model Y Variant
For those of you hoping for some news about new models from Tesla, there is one bit of good news. The RWD version of the Model Y has been dropped. In its place is a new RWD version with an advertised 320 miles of range — 10 more than the dual-motor Model Y and 60 more than the prior RWD version. The new car is priced at $44,990 (plus a delivery charge) and is eligible for the full $7,500 federal rebate, bringing its net cost down to $37,490 — less that many conventional SUVs for sale in America. The new model is not quite as quick as the AWD version but at $4,000 less, it may appeal strongly to those who don’t live in snowbelt states.
Is a new version if the Model Y enough to calm people’s jitters about where Tesla is headed in the months and years ahead? Nope, but it’s a sign that someone is minding the store. By the way, I saw a Model Y on the road recently sporting the new ruby red paint and it is flat out gorgeous! Small comfort among the chaos that follows Musk everywhere, but a nice improvement nonetheless.
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