According to the political left, electric vehicles are our future, and as such, we need to be buying them as fast as they can be made – for the sake of the planet, if nothing else. But clearly, that’s not what is happening.
Proof comes to us as Tesla, one of the world’s largest EV manufacturers, announces massive layoffs to begin post haste.
News of the layoffs came on Monday via Reuters, which obtained an internal business memo in which Telsa CEO Elon Musk explained the news.
“As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity. As part of this effort, we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10% globally.”
In addition to losing 10 percent of its workforce, the company is also saying goodbye to two top executives.
One is Drew Baglino, Tesla’s senior vice president of battery development. The other is Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy and business development.
To be clear, these executives are not being let go or laid off. Instead, both have announced their resignation, presumably moving on to greener pastures. Both were given heart felt responses by Musk upon announcing their departure.
After taking a well-deserved break, Drew will no doubt go on to do great things. I look forward to following what he does next.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2024
The past 8 years at Tesla have been filled with every emotion – but the feeling I have today is utmost gratitude.
To our unbelievable customers and fans – I’m inspired by your passion and impact on @Tesla and the mission.
To @elonmusk for giving me the chance and…
— Rohan Patel (@rohanspatel) April 15, 2024
Naturally, the reduction in the company’s workforce, like any layoff, is proof that it isn’t doing as well as expected, at least financially.
As Reuters reported, the organization’s total global vehicle deliveries fell for the first time in four years in January. During the same time, its shares also fell by around 33 percent. In January, the Financial Times also reported that Tesla had been officially bumped to second place in terms of the world’s top selling EV producer, replaced by Chinese company BYD.
Furthermore, the move means EVs, in general, aren’t taking off as expected.
As you might have heard, other EV producers, such as Rivian, have also cut down their workforce recently, as well as their production goals. Ford, GM, and other auto manufacturers have also scaled back EV production as the American public continues to be uninterested in buying into the supposed future of transportation.
If EVs ever really do take off, it will be because everyday citizens want them, not because some elitist tells them to.
