Summary

Tesla reported its worst quarterly results in four years, with Q1 income down 71% and EV sales falling 13%.

Elon Musk vowed to refocus on Tesla amid backlash over his political role in the Trump Administration’s DOGE program, but analysts doubt his return will fix worsening issues.

Tesla faces eroding market share, failed products like the Cybertruck, and a coming 145% tariff on imported Chinese battery cells set to hammer the company’s battery pack business, one of the only bright spots last quarter.

Musk’s pivot to robotaxis and humanoid robots lacks credibility, and critics say Tesla has no compelling new EVs to revive growth.

  • DBT@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Tesla doesn’t need him to refocus, the damage is done. He fucked it all up trying to impress everyone at 4 chan with his nazi salutes, deal with it chainsaw performance, firing thousands of people nonchalant, etc.

    As long as he’s tied to the brand in any way it’s cooked.

  • RestrictedAccount@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    One thing that must be made clear to casual observers is that the Tesla stock price is still batshit crazy high.

    The logic to support the price is:

    Your are not buying the current company, you are buying the cool stuff Elon is making in the future.

    Without that leap of faith, the price has to collapse. There is no way an electric car company will ever support even the current stock price.

    There will be a tremendous amount of copium ingested before gravity hits, but the bigger fool theory will have its way.

  • pyre@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    things really went to shit when he mimicked hitler. maybe in order to reverse it he needs to mimick hitler again. now what did he do to get out of the mess he created for himself?

    • TheFogan@programming.dev
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      14 days ago

      I’m afraid we need a good ryme, or a 3 word chant in order for it to actually resonate… anyone got a go woke go broke equivelant for nazi’s or white supremacists.

      Go nazi go kamikaze?

  • flop_leash_973@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    Burning your good will with your primary customer base by throwing your weight behind a political group full of the worst of society that has the public support of the statistically poorest in society wasn’t a great long term plan?

    Shocking, well not that shocking.

    • IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      Way too late for that. Too many potential customers will now never buy a Tesla as long as he’s associated with the brand in any way. About the only option he has to try to save the brand is to sever all ties with the company and walk away. But his ego will never allow that.

      • piecat@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        I would buy a tesla, but only if they fire/disown musk, undo every trace of him, and do a complete 180 politically. Oh and make the cars suck way less.

        • IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world
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          14 days ago

          Even in a very optimistic timeline it would take years for Tesla cars to suck less. I don’t think Tesla has that kind of time any more, now that there’s growing competition from big automakers like Honda & Toyota as well as Hyundai, Volkswagen, etc. and all the other EV companies like Rivian.

          Those established automakers have a long history of innovating & listening to customers. As their expansion into the EV market grows, they’re going to put a lot of pressure on Tesla to innovate as well, and that doesn’t mean bowing to whatever whims the CEO has.

          • AA5B@lemmy.world
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            13 days ago

            That’s wishful thinking

            • Japanese manufacturers may have started driving toward the party but they’re way late and lost along the road
            • US legacy manufacturers will stick with gasoline trucks, and are rolling back their EV efforts
            • Rivian and Lucid are promising but still in the business of a small number of niche models. Rivian may change that in the next couple years but it’s not a given

            So, Hyundai/Kia. And we’re wondering why Chinese companies look like they’re about to take over

          • Tja@programming.dev
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            13 days ago

            Honda and Toyota are flopping HARD on EVs. Their EVs suck, like worst in the market suck. Hyundai / Kia are doing a great job, and VW is boring but okay (now after fixing the 3.0 software debacle).

            I wish rivian and lucid had more funding, cause their cars are top notch, but the companies have growth pains.

            • Zacpod@lemmy.world
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              13 days ago

              I can’t speak to Honda’s current line up, but my Clarity PHEV is fricken’ amazing. Best car I’ve ever owned.

      • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        Honestly I think the real nail in the coffin for that company would be if another company like BYD came in and started selling their EVs on the market. Cause unlike Tesla they make decent cars at affordable prices.

  • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Step down from Doge, open the files and lay bare this administration.

    Offer to buyback every single Cybertruck.

    Appoint a board of directors elected by Tesla employees, with representatives from each department to manage the long term goals and policy of Tesla.

    Make a low cost, highly configurable electric car. Essentially an electric 90’s Civic.

    Or better yet. Pay me 500 million a year and I’ll do all of this for you.

      • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        Nah, I would have the company buy them all back, repair and rebuild them with better parts. In 10 years they’ll be legendary like Deloreans, then quietly open up orders for them.

        It’s a win-win. People who want out of the truck now get their money back. The company and die-hard CT fans make a killing when these things become somewhat rare and collectible.

  • TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Tesla cannot be saved until and unless Musk sells his share of the company and completely divorces himself from it. Even that may not be enough, as the brand is so closely associated with Musk that his stain may not wash off, but it’s their only chance.

    • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      90% of what is keeping Tesla’s value is the tech bro community’s absolute belief in Elmo. If he sold all of his shares the value of the stock would plummet to almost zero. Hell if he even just sold a moderately large portion of his shares the stock price would plummet dramatically. That’s why he’s always so reluctant to sell his stock and basically uses it to leverage loans.

        • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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          13 days ago

          He actually had to sell some of his stock to pay taxes a couple of years ago. And when he did so it dramatically dropped the price of the stock. So no. There’s a rule in place that if you have a stock for X amount of time you do not have to pay taxes on it when you sell it.

          • Tja@programming.dev
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            13 days ago

            You pay less taxes on long term, but not no taxes. That’s why you take loans against it.

              • Tja@programming.dev
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                13 days ago

                I think we are lacking reading comprehension skills.

                Selling stock = taxable event, taxes (big or small).

                Getting a loan against stock = no taxable event, zero taxes.

                • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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                  13 days ago

                  And the more stock he has and the more it’s worth, the more money he can get from a loan based on it.

                  My point is still standing, the thing keeping him from selling his stock is not the taxes it’s the value of the stock.

                  This was literally proved when he sold some of his stock to pay off taxes that he owed. Bitching on twitter the entire time about it as well.

    • EstonianGuy@lemm.ee
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      14 days ago

      It will, it just takes a lot of years. Lets not forget that Hugo Boss and Volkswagen were nazi germany companies.

      They’re still quite popular even though one made military uniforms and the other vehicles.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        And that can really only begin with his departure from the company. And his divestment.

        A lot of people are going after Tesla because he owns a shit load of it and we want to bury him- not because we particularly care about Tesla.

        Once he’s gone from the company, then they can rebuild, it eh…. He has to leave first.

  • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    You can’t un-ring being a Nazi and I won’t be buying another Tesla with or without a Nazi at the helm because we all know even if he ‘steps down’ his fortune will still be tied to his stock ownership.

    Nazi Around, Find Out

  • cley_faye@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Here’s a plan : leave the engineers do their work, stop interfering with innovation, and just shut the fuck up. Not sure it would save tesla, but it would get a fighting chance.

    • Mateoto@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      Let Tesla fail and Musk too. You don’t want to save Tesla as long as the fascist Musk profits from it. Let all his companies fail.

    • Raltoid@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      That’s how they became so big in the first place.

      I honestly think there’s going to be a mockumentary about him eventually. The alleged stories are straight out of a sitcom. With his PA distracting him from engineers doing important work, giving him fake people to fire when he got in one of his moods, keeping his wild antics away from social media, etc.

      Then she asked for a raise and he fired her, afterwards he unraveled.

    • Camelbeard@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      Also don’t promise stuff you just can’t deliver on. Like how a Tesla would be full self driving in 2014 but next year, or that amazing truck that would be the end game for every company moving stuff, or the new roadster from 2017