Good morning! Today is Thursday, May 30, 2024 and here it is morning shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
Device One: Elon’s Tesla Payment Plan Faces Lots of Regulatory Hurdles
In just a few weeks, Tesla shareholders Will vote to see if it should awarded CEO Elon Musk a salary package of 56 billion USD. That’s it invalidated by a judge in Delaware in January because she found Musk had improper influence over the process.
Along with the pay package, shareholders will also vote on whether or not it should moved the automaker’s legal home from Delaware to Texas. This is the layout of the types The legal battle that Tesla and Musk may face before the June 13 vote. From Reuters:
What impact will a shareholder vote have?
If shareholders reject the move to Texas and Musk’s salary, it would vindicate the court’s ruling described Musk’s salary as “immeasurable,” and would be a bitter defeat for a board that critics say is dominated by Musk.
If shareholders vote to pay Musk, this would likely pose another legal challenge. Where that challenge plays out could depend on the vote to move Tesla’s legal home to Texas.
If Tesla becomes a Texas corporation
Lawyers for Richard Tornetta, the shareholder who sued in Delaware in 2018 over Musk’s pay, have said in court filings that they are concerned the shareholder vote is an attempt to use Texas courts to overturned the January ruling.
For her part, the judge in Delaware, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, said on May 28 She was assured by Tesla’s lawyers that the company would not litigate any dispute over the shareholder vote outside of Delaware.
If Tesla remained a Delaware corporation
The judge in Delaware still must decide how much to award Tornetta’s legal team as fees that Tesla must pay before Musk and Tesla can appeal. Shareholder legal team requests 6 billion USD. The hearing is scheduled for July 8.
Tesla’s legal team said a vote to approve Musk’s salary would materially affect the proceedings in Delaware, though it did not explain how. If the pay package is approved at a shareholders’ meeting, it will almost certainly be opposed by opposing shareholders.
McCormick could add such a challenge to the ongoing Musk pay lawsuit or create a new one. If it’s a new case, that would allow Tesla and Musk to appeal the January ruling to the Delaware Supreme Court while the Chancery Court resolves challenges to the shareholder vote, which could It can take months or even years.
Tesla’s novel use of approval votes
Tesla’s ratification vote is based on a Delaware law that is intended to allow companies to fix technical errors in corporate transactions, such as the sale of stock that is not properly authorized. The company described its approach as “novel” in its proxy filing.
No one has filed a legal challenge, but Charles Elson, a former University of Delaware professor who specializes in corporate governance, said in court filings that the ratification cannot be used because Tesla is applying it — to remedy the board’s breach of fiduciary duty.
Voting challenge
Tesla shareholders may also object to the vote, citing Musk’s efforts to influence the vote. On May 18, Musk responded “yes” to a post on he is restored, then AI and robots will stay with Tesla.
As you can see, there are a lot of variables at play here. I suppose if I had $56 billion up for grabs, I will also fight hard for it whether I deserve it or not.
That said, I probably wouldn’t hold the company’s future hostage as much musk (who is worth about 200 billion USD already) is like that. He said he would withhold Tesla’s future AI plans if payment package is not approved. What a guy.
Device #2: A $25,000 electric Jeep is on the way
Jeep car is preparing to launch $25,000 electric cars in America “very soon,” according to comments from Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. This news, of course, comes to many Other automakers scaled back their EV plans. This is more than words Wall Street Journal:
Tavares, speaking at the Bernstein conference in New York, said that a $25,000 all-electric Jeep is achievable in part because the company already sells cheaper electric vehicles at a profit elsewhere In the world. In particular, he mentioned the Citroën e-C3, a hatchback on sale in Europe for 23,300 euros. The model will eventually be offered at a lower price of 20,000 euros or $21,500.
“The same way we brought the 20,000 euro Citroën e-C3, you will soon have a $25,000 Jeep, because we are using the same expertise,” Tavares said in response to a question about electric cars in America
An electric Jeep costing around $20,000 would be an important statement for the brand. The cheapest electric car the parent company currently sells in the US is the small Fiat 500e with a price of about $32,500.
Tavares has previously described a $25,000 price point as the target for an entry-level electric vehicle in the US, but his comments at an event in New York identified it as one of the automaker’s most important brands. car manufacturing.
If I were a betting man, I’d guess that’s a cheap bet Jeep electric crossover will sell very as long as it’s not nonsense.
3rd Gear: NHTSA wants Tesla records in power steering loss probe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration looking for more records from Tesla as it investigates why Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles is solving the problem of loss of power steering. From Reuters:
The Automobile Safety Administration, which upgraded its investigation in February, said in a letter dated Tuesday to Tesla and posted on its website that it wanted Tesla’s records by March 24. 7 about steering parts.
This requirement covers Tesla’s process for identifying problems and creating solutions to potential defects. The agency also wants to know if Tesla will make any changes to power steering components or plans over the next four months.
[…]
The investigation covers about 334,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from model year 2023 and comes after the agency received 115 reports of loss of steering control.
NHTSA Said reports include issues such ase the steering wheel is “stuck”, “locked” or “cannot move” which is less than ideal. Sometimes the handlebars can move but it takes a lot of effort to do so. Others have reported things like “limping” or “clicking” steering coupled with steering-related warning messages on the dashboard. Regulators are aware of at least 50 vehicles believed to have been towed because of steering problems.
NHTSA, which opened a preliminary review in July 2023 of reported loss of steering control in 280,000 Tesla Model 3 and Y vehicles, said in February it had identified a total of 2,388 complaints.
Reuters reported in December that tens of thousands of owners have experienced premature suspension or steering problems since 2016, citing Tesla documents and interviews with customers and former employees.
Reuters reported that Tesla documents show that the automaker sought to blame drivers for frequent failures in suspension and steering components that the company has long known were faulty.
Since 2018, electric vehicles made by the Austin, Texas-based automaker have seen nine separate recalls in the US for defects. problems related to the car’s steering and suspension systems.
4th Gear: A new round of layoffs has hit Fisker
Fisker is continuing its rapid march to death with a new round of layoffs. Dozens of former Fisker employees took to social media on May 29 to share their layoffs with the world. Only to make matters worse, when news agencies reached out Fisker to comment, California-based automaker will not provide one. From Automotive news:
“Being part of the last major wave of layoffs at Fisker, and while it wasn’t ideal, I was honored and privileged to work directly with some of the brightest, hard-working individuals best and most talented out there,” Freddy Boyd, a sales consultant, said in a LinkedIn post.
[…]
In its fourth-quarter earnings report in late February, Fisker said there was “substantial doubt about its ability to continue operations” after reporting a net loss of $463 million and announcing a 15% reduction in its workforce. dynamic. Further rounds of mass layoffs took place.
“I have read many posts like this over the past months from people affected by the layoffs,” Kerrie Roberts, Fisker’s director of social media, said Wednesday on LinkedIn. “Today, after many rounds and seeing my colleagues and direct reports eliminated one by one at Fisker, it was my turn.”
Business Insider reported Wednesday that Fisker intends to reduce its headcount to about 100 employees.
Among the departments affected are sales, service, design, software, marketing and engineering, according to Fisker employees who announced layoffs on social media.
Because Fisker is about to die painfully, apparently forgot to tell everyone who was laid off that they lost their jobs. Casey Millstein, an engineering manager, posted that he didn’t know he lost his job until he couldn’t log into the automaker’s computer system.
“Today, I was released without any warning. There wasn’t even a call from human resources,” Millstein wrote. “As I sit here and reflect back on my (almost) 2 years of hard work and dedication, I realize that this company has never and will never care about their employees. Especially in these uncertain times, it’s all about cricket.”
That’s a big thing for me, dog. If I had to guess, it would only be a matter of time before you see a “Dead: Fisker” post on this site.
For those wondering, Fisker’s stock price is down more than 96% over the year to just… 6 cents. Damned.
On the contrary: Let’s race
Neutral: I deserve a Lexus LC500
On the radio: Scott McKenzie – “San Francisco (Be sure to wear flowers in your hair)”
