Elon Musk is trying to pull Twitter out of a broad-based drop in revenue while he is fighting with advertisers more and more. At the same time, Tesla is going through one of its hardest times of 2022, dealing with falling demand and problems with Autopilot, and Musk’s damaged reputation from the Twitter free speech scandal continues to be a huge drag on the Tesla brand.
Tesla cut the cost of its electric vehicles in China by up to 9.4% back in late October. This choice was first explained as a strategic move to take advantage of China’s subsidy program for electric vehicles, which is set to end in a few months and is worth 12,000 yuan ($1,720).
By bringing the price of the Tesla Car Y Standard Range below the 300,000 yuan barrier to 288,900 Yuan, the price reduction made the model eligible for the subsidy.
However, China is not seeing that brief increase in demand. Naturally, the Asian giant’s zero-COVID policies have put a brake on the economy. However, questions about demand are still present.
To start, earlier this week, Reuters claimed that Tesla was prepared to reduce its manufacturing in China by 20%, only to be greeted by a vehement denial from the EV industry leader. It’s interesting that Tesla didn’t say specifically which part of the Reuters article was inaccurate.
Then, earlier today, SCMP published a story that said Tesla was offering discounts of up to $859 to attract Chinese customers. This added more evidence to the idea that demand was falling.
As if the situation weren’t already dangerous enough, Tesla now seems to have changed course from its previous strategy of relying only on a vision-based Autopilot system, which comprises eight high-resolution cameras and a sophisticated neural network to decipher the visual clues. The EV giant is now striving to re-integrate an HD radar.
This change comes in the wake of a slew of alarming mishaps with Autopilot over the previous several years, which have now energized regulatory authorities.
Tesla was charged with deceiving consumers about the capabilities of its Autopilot technology by California’s DMV in August. A client also filed a lawsuit against the business for “deceptive marketing” during the same month.
Then, in October, rumors claimed that the US Department of Justice and the SEC were still looking into Tesla’s assertions about Autopilot. Since this is the case, adding radar only backs up the claims of Tesla critics who have questioned the safety of the company’s much-touted Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS).
While Tesla’s robotaxis are still just a pipe dream, today in Las Vegas, Uber officially introduced a similar service in partnership with Motional.
Over the last five trading days, the shares of Tesla have decreased by around 12%. When all of this is considered, it is not unexpected that Elon Musk has now lost the title of the wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes’ assessment.
In light of the current arrangements on the leadership board, Bernard Arnault of LVMH now holds that position. Of course, this isn’t the first time Musk has given Arnault this position. After all, a similar changeover occurred in May 2021.
Last but not least, there are rumors in China that the company’s top executive there would replace Musk as CEO of the whole company.
In light of Twitter’s continuing influence, do you believe Elon Musk will be able to recover the title of the wealthiest man in the world? Please share your opinions in the space provided below.
Elon Musk Is Back in Action
As Tesla’s share price continues to fluctuate, the company’s net worth is likewise subject to minute-by-minute adjustments. Elon Musk is reportedly back in charge of the millionaires’ club, according to Reuters. As long as Musk and Arnault’s respective net worths are relatively close to one another, we anticipate that these gyrations will continue.
Source: WCCFTECH