Musk described the factories in Grünheide near Berlin and in Austin in a video interview published on Wednesday as “gigantic money incinerators”. In last month’s conversation with the Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley fan club, Musk described the past two years as an “absolute nightmare” with regard to the auto industry’s persistent supply chain problems. The Tesla boss also warned: “We’re not over it yet”.
According to Musk, Tesla is about keeping the company running so that the employees continue to be paid and the group does not go bankrupt. While high start-up costs and losses are relatively normal for new plants like Grünheide and Austin in the start-up phase when ramping up production, Tesla also faced challenges with its Shanghai plant. “The Covid shutdowns in China have been very, very difficult to say the least,” Musk said. The interview was conducted on May 31st, but the part with the most recent statements has only now been broadcast on the Internet.
Musk had recently repeatedly warned of an economic downturn and announced job cuts at Tesla. The electric car maker will cut three to 3.5 percent of its jobs in the coming months, Musk clarified on Tuesday after conflicting reports. About every tenth job among employees is to be lost, while the number of factory workers will increase in the long term.
At the beginning of the year, Tesla had almost 100,000 employees. In some cases, Tesla built up employee jobs too quickly, Musk said via video link at the Qatar Economic Forum conference.
Source: Nachrichten
