What We’re Reading
Tesla reports profit drop on price cuts, lower vehicle sales (France 24, July 24, 2024)
Tesla reported a significant second-quarter drop in profits after aggressive price cuts on vehicles and steep expenses for reorganization of the company after laying off 10% of its staff earlier this year. The carmaker reported profits of $1.5 billion in the second quarter of 2024, a 45% drop from last year. Despite the dramatic drop in sales, Tesla feels optimistic about its plans to begin production of its more affordable Tesla models in early 2025. The company also expects its Cybertruck vehicle to stay on track for profitability by the end of 2024.
As we recently reported, Tesla has also postponed its robotaxi event that was scheduled for August, which “allowed [Tesla] to improve the robotaxi as well as add in a couple of other things for the product unveil,” stated Elon Musk after moving the event to October.
It seems that despite a poor Q2, the automaker remains “overly optimistic” about its future and the likelihood of fully autonomous robotaxis, Musk adding that he “would be shocked if we cannot do it next year.”
GM indefinitely delays Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle (CNBC, July 23, 2024)
General Motors has indefinitely delayed production of its Origin autonomous vehicle as it navigates difficulties with its self-driving unit, Cruise. Instead, the focus will shift to using the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt for developing autonomous technology. This decision, outlined by GM CEO Mary Barra, is aimed at reducing costs and mitigating regulatory issues linked to the vehicle’s lack of manual controls. The production halt follows a November incident where a Cruise robotaxi in San Francisco dragged a pedestrian, prompting a suspension of driverless operations and a $600 million setback in GM’s second-quarter earnings. Former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt expressed disappointment, noting GM’s history of losing technological leads. A third-party review found that regulatory oversights contributed to the San Francisco accident. Cruise, with major investors such as Honda, Microsoft, and Walmart, is now resuming supervised driving in other cities but has not yet relaunched in San Francisco.
British motorists overwhelmingly reject self-driving and AI vehicles despite road safety benefits (GB News, July 19, 2024)
A recent survey conducted in Brittan shows that the public is not ready for self-driving vehicles on the road. Only 37% of those polled support autonomous vehicle technology. Not surprising, adults between the ages of 18-44 were more in favor of the technology vs those over 45. When asked what bad habits could be cut out by self-driving vehicles, being impatient, distracted and exceeding the speed limit topped the list of answers.
Simon Staton, client management director for Venson Automotive Solutions said, "While many company car drivers may shy away from switching to autonomous as soon as they become legal, acceptance will grow rapidly, and many will be keen to explore the options."