Tesla employees broke the news: China is the grass platform, and the risk is still fermenting!
Recently, Tesla's layoffs have swept the world, especially in the Chinese market. According to media reports, the proportion of layoffs in some departments in the Chinese market is 30%-40%, some departments even exceed 50%, and the general layoff rate in other departments is around 20%.
From the decline in quarterly sales to large-scale layoffs around the world, Tesla is on the cusp, which has also seriously affected its stock price. Tesla's market capitalization has fallen from a peak of nearly $1 trillion to less than $480 billion today, more than half.
Regarding Tesla's layoffs, an employee of Beijing Tesla broke the news to Heart of the Rock: "Tesla's rout has long been foreshadowed. He also revealed to me some insider information about Tesla's China region. After listening to his story, I think Tesla's risk is far from over, and maybe it has just begun.
Layoffs without warning
The outside world learned that Tesla was going to lay off employees through the statement of the boss Musk on social media X. Tesla's employees in China were suddenly notified to fire the squid.
"After I started work on April 15, I received an interview from my supervisor, and the content of the interview was very simple, and I immediately agreed to leave the company and receive N+3 compensation. If you don't agree, you can only get N+1 compensation. "It can be said that Tesla's layoffs in China are very cold and inhumane.
After Tesla's layoff plan came out, some self-media even praised the "N+3 compensation plan". In this regard, the whistleblower said: "Tesla is a foreign company, and the adoption of N+3 compensation in accordance with the law is a routine operation, not preferential treatment for Chinese employees." ”
According to him, the current sales staff layoff rate is well over 10%, and may exceed 30%. The domestic sales staff also have low incomes and high pressure, and they are already very resentful, so layoffs are a relief. Some people even offered to leave their jobs and leave with N+3 compensation.
Although Tesla's layoffs happened suddenly, there were hints before. Because the senior management in China began to take stock of various resources at the end of 2023, it seems that they are now preparing for some public opinion support for the later layoffs.
A group of "grass platform teams"
"Tesla's senior management team in China is a group of grass platform teams, which have neither strategic thinking nor keen market insight, and even change their sales policies. The whistleblower complained.
I once added a Tesla salesperson's WeChat account, and she often sent me Tesla discount messages. Either it is a low interest policy of 0 down payment loans, or silver car paint is exempted, or a time-limited price reduction, or a car purchase subsidy......
I was dazzled by these promotional policies. I have never understood why Tesla's sales policy has changed twice in three days. In communicating with this Tesla employee, I learned that it was because the Tesla China team could only make policy adjustments in a few small places such as car paint and loans, and all major policies had to be decided by the US headquarters.
He also told a story that in the face of the sudden launch of models such as Xiaomi SU7 and Huawei Wenjie M9, internal employees once asked "Does Tesla have a countermeasure?" during a meeting, to which the senior management of China replied: "These products are just a flash in the pan and do not need to be overly concerned." ”
"In the fourth quarter of 2023, Tesla China was still celebrating its 2023 results, completely unaware of the upcoming market difficulties in the next quarter. He said.
These two things let us see that Tesla's China team is basically just Musk's microphone, without any decision-making power, and at the same time, these returnee executives are very arrogant and have lost their acumen to the market.
Therefore, Tesla China is really a group of "grass platform teams".
Musk's responsibility is great
The general was incompetent and exhausted the three armies. Tesla's current problems, as the CEO, Musk cannot escape responsibility.
"Tesla has two models for sale in China, the Model 3 and Model Y, and has been in China for more than 8 years, and so far there are no new models or major facelifts. ”
Tesla has a first-mover advantage in the Chinese market, which also makes the China team lie on the credit book and do not want to forge ahead. Previously, traditional car companies did not accelerate their entry into the tram market, but in recent years, Ideal, Weilai, Xiaopeng, Huawei Wenjie, and Xiaomi have come in, and continue to launch new models, optimize the system and intelligent cockpit, so that Tesla has really become a "rough house".
But Musk still hasn't launched a new model, and he still wants to continue to eat his old book. As a result, it is impossible to maintain the competitive advantage of the previous one. The Model 3 ushered in a large number of competitors, such as NIO ET6, Geely Galaxy, Zhiji LS6, Zhijie S7, Xiaomi SU7, BMW i3, etc., these cars are ahead of the Model 3 in terms of interior and cockpit design.
In addition, Musk believes that the future of electric vehicles lies in autonomous driving, and has put more energy into unmanned driving. In April 2024, Tesla announced that it would begin rolling out the new version of FSD full self-driving capabilities to 1.7 million car owners in the United States.
"Musk is more focused on autonomous driving. He believes that the future of car companies lies in autonomous driving, and the car is just a shell. There is no point in making a fuss about it in the car. FSD autonomous driving may be applicable to road conditions in the United States, but not for complex and congested road conditions in China, and it is not supported by laws and regulations. He said.
Therefore, Tesla is not able to exert the advantages of FSD's fully autonomous driving capability in the Chinese market, and is in a weak position in the cockpit, interior, and model, so it is defeated by Chinese cars in the competition.
"The whole Tesla is Musk alone. Even if other executives have opinions, they can't be brought to him. In Yiyantang, once you make a mistake, the consequences are very serious. He said.
With the launch of new models such as the ideal L6 and the SUV version of Xiaomi cars, Tesla's only remaining Model Y advantage may also disappear, which will be fatal to Tesla.
epilogue
The reasons for Tesla's rout are clear. Not only because of the decline in the overall sales of new energy vehicles in the U.S. market, but more importantly, because of internal factors. The reason for Tesla's collapse in the Chinese market is that the China team is a group of grass teams, with no strategic decision-making power, and the executives are very arrogant.
At the same time, Musk had problems in strategy and management, lying on the first-mover advantage, lacking the update and innovation of models, and did not take any action in the face of competition. And betting on autonomous driving, it is difficult to rely on this advanced technology to gain a competitive advantage in the short term.
For Musk's status, many people have compared Jobs, in fact, Musk has no real experience in managing companies except for founding Tesla and Space X. Previously, the success of the American online payment platform PayPal, Musk only played the role of an investor. Therefore, his experience in management is obviously insufficient.
To sum up, Tesla's risks have not disappeared due to layoffs, especially in China, which has just begun to ferment!
Heart of the Rock, author and critic of "Decrypting Xiaomi" and "Internet Black Hole: The Expansion of Chinese-style Enterprises Across Borders".