Elon Musk told investors last month that Tesla’s future depends not on selling EVs, but on deploying artificial intelligence in robots with legs and wheels. Musk is running fast to prove this strategy is for real.
Reuters reported Friday that Musk is working on a deal to use data from Teslas tooling around China to feed his Full Self Driving artificial intelligence machine. Tesla could set up a new data center in China, export Chinese data to its existing AI training computers, or both.
Video captured from car cameras is gold for training AI, Musk has said.
Musk is trying to negotiate a path around Chinese government restrictions on collecting and exporting vehicle data, and U.S. government efforts to clamp down on the transfer of advanced AI technology to China by U.S. companies.
Rising tension between China and the United States over EV trade won’t make Musk’s task easier.
Reuters also reported Friday that the government of Shanghai, home to Tesla’s Chinese factory and other operations, has signaled it will ease restrictions on transferring certain data – including connected car data – outside the country. If the Shanghai plan becomes fact, that would be a win for Tesla and other foreign companies.
Musk’s apparent progress toward the goal of feeding giga-truckloads of Chinese data into Tesla’s AI training computers comes at a critical moment. Because in other ways, Tesla is becoming more like a Motor City Three automaker – though Elon Musk’s management style puts a unique spin on things.
Reuters revealed new details this week of how Musk abruptly fired the entire staff that supported Tesla’s Supercharger EV charging network, putting the future of one of Tesla’s most valuable assets in question.
Musk is slashing jobs and scaling back product plans as he tries to match Tesla’s operating and capital spending costs to a diminished growth outlook for EVs. That’s just what the legacy companies are doing.
Elon Musk is the Henry Ford of electric vehicles. But not all chapters in Henry Ford’s story are upbeat.
Tesla is now losing ground in the EV market it invented – just as Ford did in the 1920s when General Motors pioneered the concept of cars as stylish status symbols, and Old Henry refused to accept that the aging Model T’s days were done.
Here is new data that illustrate Tesla’s problems.
Tesla’s U.S. registrations fell by 4.1% during the first quarter to 131,754 vehicles, mainly because of a 47% collapse in demand for the Model 3 after the sedan lost eligibility for a $7,500 federal tax credit, according to new data from S&P Global provided to Reuters Auto File.
Overall, U.S. EV registrations grew – that’s right, grew – by 8.7% to 236,774, according to the S&P data.
Models from legacy auto brands drove that growth, including several launched during the past 12-18 months.
South Korea’s Hyundai and Kia together registered 9,291 more EVs in Q1 than a year ago – equivalent to 38% of the overall EV sales gain. The Korean brands have launched EVs that are both fresher looking and more affordable than the comparable Teslas.
Ford, Cadillac, BMW and Mercedes also had big numeric and percentage increases in EV sales. Lexus went from registering just 79 EVs in Q1 2023 to 1,630 in Q1 2024.
With sales slowing, Tesla is now stockpiling cars, according to a report from the Jalopnik auto enthusiast website that has ricocheted around the internet. This is an old-school, Detroit tactic – ask your favorite search engine for a history of the term “Sales Bank.”
Tesla is now offering Detroit-style cut rate leases and financing. “Finance Model Y from 0.99%” was the headline on one offer sent via email during the past week.
Hurry! The deal is only good until May 31 – unless it’s extended.
