14,000 people were laid off, Tesla can't hold on? Musk painfully exposed the inside story of layoffs
As the saying goes, "30 years in Hedong, 30 years in Hexi", under the fierce competition in the global electric vehicle market, Tesla, a major American manufacturer, was a little unable to hold on, and it fell to the point of major layoffs, which is indeed embarrassing.
However, it is worth noting that behind Tesla's crazy layoffs, it has also exposed a deeper crisis in the US auto industry.
(Tesla boss announces big layoffs)
According to the global network, on the 15th, Tesla boss Elon Musk announced that he would lay off 10% of its employees worldwide, and it is understood that Tesla has nearly 150,000 employees worldwide, which means that 14,000 employees will be laid off.
In fact, this is not the first time Tesla has laid off employees, since 2017, Tesla has carried out a total of five large-scale layoffs, although this time the layoffs did not reach the 20% predicted, but it is still the most ever.
As for why Tesla laid off so many employees, Musk revealed the inside story in a letter to employees, in which he bitterly said that he hated layoffs very much, but was forced to lay off 10% of its employees in order to improve productivity and efficiency due to duplication of work in some parts of the company.
In short, Musk said the layoffs were in preparation for the next phase of the company's growth.
In fact, what Musk said is relatively official, and one of the reasons for Tesla's big layoffs is that under the fierce competition from other electric car companies, Tesla can't sell anymore and can only lay off employees to stop the bleeding.
Data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, Tesla's global trading volume is only more than 380,000 vehicles, which is the lowest single-quarter delivery volume since the third quarter of 2022.
In addition, Tesla boss Elon Musk has repeatedly sold the company's shares, and has also damaged Tesla's image due to his lack of concealment, which has more or less affected investor confidence and put pressure on Tesla's stock price.
(Tesla scenery is no more)
With Tesla no longer having this problem, let's talk about the complacency of the American auto industry, which is the deep-seated problem they are facing.
Taking the electric vehicle industry as an example, the three major automakers in the United States - General Motors, Fox and Stellantis did not realize that electric vehicles would rise so rapidly, so they not only seriously lagged behind in the research of automotive batteries, but also almost handed over the grasp of rare earth resources, so they were caught off guard.
In March 2009, Tesla launched the Tesla Model S, which sparked an electric car boom around the world, in February 2018, SpaceX sent Tesla's electric car into space, and in July of the same year, Tesla announced that it would settle in Shanghai.
At that time, only Apple in the United States announced its electric car plan in 2014, but because it was not its main business, it then gloomily announced the termination of its 10-year car manufacturing plan.
Although Tesla has become a "new force", it has not brought any stimulus to the traditional American automobile industry, but on the contrary, it has stimulated BYD's huge potential.
Therefore, some experts said that the three major U.S. automakers have ignored China's ability to overtake in the field of electric vehicles, which may lead to the crisis of "annihilation" in the subsequent development of electric vehicles.
(Weak demand for electric vehicles, Tesla layoffs)
Of course, the U.S. government saw this and quickly remedied, but unfortunately, the U.S. took measures to suppress China, ban the use of China-related materials, and not allow companies such as Ford to set up joint ventures with Chinese companies to produce batteries, and at the same time, subsidize and reduce taxes on electric vehicles made with American materials.
However, this inexplicable sanctions and constraints only satisfy the political selfish desires of the US government, and cannot solve the difficulties encountered by the United States in the development of electric vehicles, and under the current policy, the American auto industry will lose all its overseas markets for future electric vehicle exports.
It is foreseeable that the "new isolationism" of the United States in the field of electric vehicles will inevitably involute the American electric vehicle industry in its "small courtyard and high walls".
(Who is enclosed by the high walls of the small courtyard in the United States)
The more complacent it is, the more difficult it is to make progress, and even the "new forces" such as Tesla have died down, and the United States should think about it, and the so-called "small courtyard and high walls" are just cocooning itself.