Tesla investors have spent the last few months wondering whether the automaker's CEO is keeping an eye on the situation.
Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, his spat with OpenAI and his frequent political statements have led to questions about how much attention the billionaire has paid to the world's most valuable automaker.
Calls for the Tesla chief's full time are growing louder.< /p>
Musk tried to address those concerns this weekend. In canceling a long-planned trip to India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he cited Tesla's «very difficult commitments.»
Of course, now is not the time to be distracted. Earlier this month, Tesla reported that sales of its vehicles fell for the first time in four years. The company is expected to report a sharp drop in profit on Tuesday evening.
Last week, the company cut about a tenth of its global workforce, including some veteran executives.
Shares have fallen more than 40% this year, ousting Musk as the most richest person in the world. In January, Tesla briefly lost its status as the world's best-selling electric vehicle manufacturer to the Chinese company BYD.
Shares fell as much as 5% on Monday following a new round of price cuts from Tesla over the weekend. fighting competitions.
The situation is unlikely to improve in the near future. Demand for electric vehicles is falling and in some markets reversing.
This unexpected development challenges the entire industry, but disproportionately hits pure-play manufacturers such as Tesla, which produce only electric vehicles (EVs).< /p>
However, Musk believes he has an ace up his sleeve. In recent months, Tesla's chief executive has tried to reposition the company as not just another electric vehicle maker, but a leader in self-driving technology.
“I think success in this regard in the long term could make Tesla the most expensive company in the world,” Musk told investors last October.
The billionaire's ambition is to enable motorists to compensate for the countless hours they currently spend behind the wheel by essentially turning cars into self-driving robotaxis. In his vision of the future, passengers will be able to do whatever they want.
Musk has been promising self-driving cars for the better part of a decade. Since 2016, the company has advertised all its cars as capable of self-driving — as soon as software and regulations allow it.
That same year, he predicted that a Tesla car would soon be able to drive around the United States. without human intervention. Enthusiastic customers have paid thousands to install full self-driving (FSD) software on new cars, despite no timeline for installing it.
Musk said in 2019 that Tesla would produce cars without a steering wheel or pedals. during two years. He promised that Tesla owners will soon be able to let their cars operate as autonomous robotaxis.
“In the future, consumers will demand that people not be allowed to drive these two-ton death machines,” he said.
Ambitious timelines are the norm for Musk. But there are signs that its self-driving ambitions are now moving much closer.
FSD can now be used on roads in the US and Canada after years of beta testing, and Musk is pushing hard for customers to embrace it. In March, Musk told employees they must provide a demo of the technology to customers to demonstrate it, calling it a «strong requirement.»
Tesla recently reduced the monthly cost of an FSD subscription from $199 to $99, and this weekend it reduced the price drivers pay for a one-time purchase from $12,000 to $8,000.
Tesla recently announced that one billion miles have been driven using the software, which is ten times more than last year. «Most people still have no idea how amazingly good Tesla FSD is,» Musk said in March.
However, the company still has a lot to prove.
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