Elon Musk apologizes, Mercedes struggles to deliver cars, VW is lacking powertrain engineers and more await you in The Morning Shift for Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018.
Correction: Thursday, August 2, 1:20 p.m. ET A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the individuals Musk apologized to as journalists. Copy has been corrected below.
Tesla shares rose as much as 12 percent after the company held its second quarter earnings call last night, Bloomberg reports. Among contributing factors to the jump was Elon Musk’s apology to analysts (which you can read here), whom he had scolded in a previous conference call for asking “dry” and “boring, bonehead” questions.
It was a step in the right direction from a CEO who, especially recently, has been dishing out some rather childish remarks that have spooked investors, and which have been followed by drops in Tesla stocks.
Also contributing to the jump in Tesla shares was the announcement that Tesla had only burned through $740 million over three months ending in June, instead of $900 million that analysts were apparently anticipating.
Steps in the right direction for Tesla and for Musk, who clearly needs to sleep more.
For the longest time, for a vehicle to be certified in Europe, it has had to undergo the New European Drive Cycle, or NEDC, fuel economy and emissions test procedure.
But now, after over 25 years, the NEDC will bow out for the new “Worldwide Harmonized Light Duty Vehicles Test Procedure,” or WLTP, which promises to more accurately represent driving conditions, and thus provide more representative fuel economy and emissions test results.
With Diess saying “Engine development expertise has been lost,” and with the automaker recently snagging BMW powertrain expert Markus Duesmann, Reuters says VW’s got a significant skills shortage to overcome.
Light vehicle sales dropped an estimated 3.7 percent in July, Automotive News reports, with Fiat Chrysler, VW, and Subaru appearing to be the only winners, while pretty much every other major automaker posted losses.
CEO of Mercedes’ U.S., Dietmar Exler said in a statement that the company is working to figure out how to recover from the 2019 model year delays, but that sales figures will likely suffer as a result.
Yikes. Looks like a major blunder.
Ford Motor Co. is pondering an exit from the South American market and has started shopping its money-losing business there to rivals Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Volkswagen AG, according to people familiar with the matter.
The automaker made overtures to several competitors while considering its options for the unit, said the people, who asked not to be named because the conversations were private. Dearborn-based Ford hasn’t shown a pretax profit in South America since 2012 and has lost $4.2 billion in the market since then.
Sounds like big changes are in store. Whether that means a sale or a partnership, we’ll have to wait and see.
Fiat Chrysler will hold memorial services for the CEO who saved the company, Sergio Marchionne, whose death was announced last week after complications arose from a shoulder surgery.
According to the Detroit News, one service will take place at FCA’s U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills on Sept. 27, while another will be held Sept. 14 at Turin Cathedral not far from FCA’s headquarters in Italy.
The latter service, the news site states, will be open to the public, though apparently details on the one in the U.S. still need to be ironed out.
Andrew Smith Hallidie tested the first cable car at 4 o’clock in the morning, August 2nd, 1873, on Clay Street, in San Francisco. His idea for a steam engine powered - cable driven - rail system was conceived in 1869, after witnessing horses being whipped while they struggled on the wet cobblestones to pull a horsecar up Jackson Street. As the story goes, the horses slipped and were dragged to their death.
Neutral: How Do You Feel About Musk’s Apology?
How does his behavior influence you as a potential customer, and how do you think it influences shareholders?