The US electric car manufacturer Tesla wants to stop production at its factory in Grünheide near Berlin for four days because of the announced protests. All employees would be required to work from home on Friday, reports “Handelsblatt
“ on Tuesday, referring to an email from Tesla to the workforce.
For employees in vehicle production, Friday is considered a bridge day. Production ends with the late shift on Wednesday and only begins again with the night shift on Sunday. According to the paper, Tesla justified this with the police measures in the wake of the protests and “the corresponding recommendation from the responsible authorities”.
The electric car manufacturer is encountering resistance with its planned factory expansion in Grünheide. Hundreds of activists are expected to take part in a protest that will last several days in Grünheide from Wednesday. Among other things, they want to stop the clearing of a forest area. “We are expecting a larger operation,” said a police spokesman on Tuesday. A spokesman for the “Turn the tap off Tesla” alliance initiative is expecting a large number of participants in the protest. Together with “Disrupt”, the association of various anti-capitalist climate protection movements, several days of action on the topic of water are planned. Everyone is united in criticism of Tesla. The protest also includes a demo on Wednesday in Potsdam. A rally is planned for Friday in front of the Tesla factory. On Saturday, the demo on the factory premises will be one of the main program items of the action days. At the beginning of March, the production lines at the Tesla factory were idle for several days after an attack on the power supply.
It’s not just in Grünheide that things aren’t going well for Tesla. The electric car manufacturer recently reported its worst quarter in a long time. Tesla reported a drop in sales to $21.3 billion for the first quarter – down 9 percent compared to the same quarter last year. The operating result fell by 56 percent from 2.6 to 1.2 billion dollars. Free cash flow was negative at minus $2.5 billion. And the operating margin fell to a meager 5.5 percent – well below the level of German car manufacturers.
Tesla announced in mid-April that it was due to weak demand worldwide 14,000 jobs in the group to be cut. The car manufacturer firmly denied that 3,000 jobs could be lost in Grünheide. A few days later, Tesla announced it 400 jobs will be cut in the factory in Brandenburg.
Tesla sales in China collapse, BYD increases sales significantly
In addition to weak demand, Tesla is suffering from a drop in prices. Especially in China there is a crazy price war going on. However, price reductions have not been able to boost Tesla’s sales in the Middle Kingdom. With 62,167 vehicles, Tesla sold 18 percent fewer in the People’s Republic in April than a year ago, the Chinese Car Association (CPCA) announced on Tuesday. Deliveries of the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles manufactured in China fell by 30.2 percent compared to March. Tesla’s cars manufactured in China are exported to various markets, including Europe.
Tesla’s biggest Chinese competitor BYD with its electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids Dynasty and Ocean sold 312,048 cars in April, almost 50 percent more than in the previous year and 3.5 percent more than in March. In the fight against weak demand, Tesla has also reduced prices in 2024.