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Musk not guilty of fraud over Tesla tweet

The plaintiffs have argued that Elon Musk’s tweets about taking Tesla private, in which he said he had “funding secured”, led them to lose millions of dollars.

A court in the US has cleared Elon Musk in a class-action securities fraud over his tweets about taking Tesla private.

The jurors deliberated for about two hours before reaching the verdict, called a “disappointed” one by Nicholas Porritt, partner at Levi & Korsinsky, the firm representing the Tesla shareholders in the class action, reports CNBC.

Musk tweeted that he is “deeply appreciative of the jury’s unanimous finding”.

His lead counsel Alex Spiro argued before the jury on Friday, saying “fraud cannot be built on the back of a consideration”.

The controversial 2018 tweets by Musk on taking Tesla private has come back to haunt him and he stands to lose billions.

The plaintiffs have argued that Musk’s tweets about taking Tesla private, in which he said he had “funding secured”, led them to lose millions of dollars.

Musk had earlier admitted in a US court that he ignored his advisors and investors while tweeting about Tesla securing funding in 2018.

In August 2018, he had tweeted: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”

“Shareholders could either sell at 420 or hold shares & go private,” he added.

The notorious tweet had cost him his role as Chairman of Tesla.

The August 2018 tweet resulted in Musk and Tesla reaching a settlement of fraud charges with the US SEC.

The settlement included $40 million in penalties, split equally between the company and Musk, and the removal of Musk as chairman of the Tesla board.

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Business

Tesla cuts prices of its EVs in US, Europe to boost demand

Tesla stock fell sharply in early trading Friday after the price cuts were reported, but ended the day less than 1 per cent lower…reports Asian Lite News

Tesla has cut prices on most of its electric cars in the US and Europe by as much as 20 per cent in a bid to spur slackening demand.

The automaker faces increasingly stiff competition in the global market for electric vehicles. It also must contend with rising interest rates in the US, which have increased the cost of financing vehicle purchases, according to New York Times. “I think Tesla recognises they are not the only game in town and the Detroit companies are jumping into the deep end with EVs,” said Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst. “I think the price cuts mean Tesla is going to rip the Band-Aid off and try to go on the offensive.”

Tesla stock fell sharply in early trading Friday after the price cuts were reported, but ended the day less than 1 per cent lower, the American newspaper said. The share price has fallen roughly 70 per cent since November 2021.

The newspaper said the cuts would allow some of Tesla’s lower-priced models, depending on optional features, to qualify for federal tax credits of USD 7,500 that were made available starting January 1 under the Inflation Reduction Act. The credit is available on electric cars priced under $55,000.

Tesla has enjoyed rapid growth for the last decade but now must contend with a variety of challenges, including concerns that its chief executive, Elon Musk, is too preoccupied with Twitter, the social media platform he acquired last year for $44 billion.

Musk has sold billions of dollars of Tesla stock to finance the Twitter acquisition, which has depressed Tesla’s stock price, and he has come under fire for firing a large portion of Twitter’s employees, according to New York Times.

The report said Musk has also aired polarising political views on the social media platform — including several messages that appeared to support Russia in its war against Ukraine — that have hurt his and Tesla’s reputation with some consumers.

Tesla is not alone in dealing with slowing sales. US auto sales fell about 8 per cent last year to fewer than 14 million cars and trucks, the lowest level since 2011, mainly because shortages of computer chips prevented manufacturers from producing as many vehicles as consumers wanted to buy. In addition, rising borrowing rates made customer financing more expensive, the newspaper reported on Friday.

Sales of electric vehicles, however, rose 66 per cent to more than 808,619, according to Kelley Blue Book, a market researcher. And while Tesla continues to dominate the segment, several automakers are gaining ground. Ford, Volkswagen and several other automakers posted sizable increases in EV sales last year, and these offer many models that were significantly more affordable than Tesla’s. Hyundai and its affiliate Kia together sold more than 43,000 electric vehicles in the United States in 2022, up from a just few hundred in 2021.

New competitors are on the way, too. This year, General Motors is supposed to start making electric versions of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox sport utility vehicles.

Tesla has also had trouble in China, its largest market. A local manufacturer, BYD, is now the No. 1 electric vehicle brand. Tesla recently lowered prices in China and reported a global sales total for 2022 that was below analysts’ expectations, the New York Times reported. (ANI)

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Business

Tesla misses goals amid Twitter distraction

In the fourth quarter, Tesla produced over 439,000 vehicles and delivered over 405,000 vehicles…reports Asian Lite news

Elon Musk-run Tesla has missed its target of 50 per cent growth in production and deliveries for 2022, as its stock plummeted around 65 per cent amid Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover last year.

The automaker needed to sell 495,760 vehicles in its fourth quarter (Q4) to have achieved the 50 per cent growth guidance.

In the fourth quarter, Tesla produced over 439,000 vehicles and delivered over 405,000 vehicles.

In 2022, vehicle deliveries grew 40 per cent (year-on-year) to 1.31 million while production grew 47 per cent (on-year) to 1.37 million.

Tesla’s Q4 deliveries, however, are up from 343,830 vehicles sold in the third quarter (Q3).

“We continued to transition towards a more even regional mix of vehicle builds which again led to a further increase in cars in transit at the end of the quarter,” the company said in a statement late on Monday.

Investors fear that the China Covid situation and supply chain-related challenges will further impact Tesla sales. They are also concerned about Musk’s distraction by his Twitter overhaul.

The Tesla CEO has become the first person ever to lose $200 billion from his net worth.

His wealth eroded further after he bought Twitter for a whopping $44 billion.

Meanwhile, Tesla also announced a price drop in several of its models, offering a $7,500 discount for its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, in a bid to sell more vehicles.

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Business

Supply issues upset global tech stocks

Companies have struggled to keep production going in China due to Covid restrictions and weeks of lockdowns…reports Asian Lite News

Apple and Tesla stocks have tumbled over growing concerns about delays in their production lines in China, BBC reported.

Apple shares hit their lowest point since June 2021. Tesla’s stock has dropped 73 per cent from a record high in November 2021.

Companies have struggled to keep production going in China due to Covid restrictions and weeks of lockdowns, BBC reported.

Now they are facing a staffing crunch as China battles a Covid wave after lifting years of restrictions.

Global investors are being cautious ahead of additional interest rate hikes, a global economic slowdown and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Apple supplier Foxconn says its revenue in November was down 11 per cent compared with the same month in 2021, following unrest at its Zhangzhou plant known as “iPhone City.”

This week, media reports said Tesla’s Shanghai manufacturing plant had cut production as Covid infections rose in China. The company declined to comment.

But analysts say the company’s sluggish sales are evident in the fact that it has offered discounts to both Chinese and North American customers, BBC reported.

Investors have also raised concerns about Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk, who has repeatedly made controversial headlines. He took over Twitter in October after a drawn-out legal battle and since then Musk has focused a significant amount of his time on running the social media platform. Some have cited his alleged distraction during this time as another reason for the fall in Tesla’s share price.

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Business

Chinese EV maker BYD far ahead than Tesla

BYD’s top three models — BYD Song, BYD Qin and BYD Han — contributed to over 56 per cent of the company’s sales during the quarter….reports Asian Lite News

China’s BYD Auto remained the global market leader, shipping more than 537,000 EV units — an increase of 197 per cent (on-year) — in the third quarter this year, leaving Elon Musk-run Tesla far behind globally.

On the other hand, Tesla’s global sales grew only 43 per cent YoY in Q3 2022 to over 343,000 units, according to Counterpoint Research.

“The smoothing production ramp in Tesla’s Berlin factory helped deliver a record number of Model Ys in Germany this quarter. However, deliveries fell short of expectations due to logistics bottlenecks,” the report mentioned.

BYD’s top three models — BYD Song, BYD Qin and BYD Han — contributed to over 56 per cent of the company’s sales during the quarter.

BYD’s overseas operations have been picking up fast as it sold almost 17,000 EV units across various regions including Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa, and Oceania in Q3.

“Among nations, China is dominating the global EV market single-handedly. Three of the top five best-selling EV brands are from China. All three brands operate predominantly in China, highlighting the China EV market’s positive evolution,” said senior analyst Soumen Mandal.

In India, BYD is targeting a sales of 15,000 units next year by launching a new model, increasing its distribution network and expanding production capacity if needed, according to a senior official.

Currently, the company rolls out e6 model a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) and in a couple of days BYD India will be launching a new model Atto3 a sport utility vehicle (SUV).The company’s plant near Chennai has a capacity to roll out 10,000 units per year. BYD India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway funded Chinese company BYD Auto.

Meanwhile, global passenger electric vehicle (EV) sales grew 71 per cent YoY in Q3.

The top 10 EV models accounted for more than 35 per cent of global EV sales and Tesla’s Model Y remained the best-selling EV model.

“Currently, EVs account for more than 15 per cent of global passenger vehicle sales. EVs are becoming the preferred choice for first-time car buyers across developed regions,” said Research Vice President Peter Richardson.

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Business Tech Lite USA

Tesla may integrate Dolby Atmos in its cars

Although it has been around for ten years, it was first integrated into movie theatres, then high-end home theatres, and now recently making it into cars…reports Asian Lite News

Elon Musk-run Tesla is reportedly working to integrate Dolby Atmos in its electric cars, to deliver better surround sound.

Dolby Laboratories created the surround sound technology called Dolby Atmos. According to the company, it is described as “expanding on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects,” reports Electrek.

Although it has been around for ten years, it was first integrated into movie theatres, then high-end home theatres, and now recently making it into cars.

In December last year, Tesla had released an annual holiday software update that turns its electric cars into megaphones by using external speakers that had been installed in vehicles.

The feature adds some voice effects to whatever you say, and that would be played to your surroundings through the external speakers.

The external speakers in Tesla cars repeat everything the driver says with a slight delay and with an echo and bass-heavy distortion.

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Business

BYD Auto becomes top-selling EV brand

Tesla’s global sales grew 27 per cent YoY to over 254,000 units, falling short of expectations…reports Asian Lite News

Global passenger electric vehicle (EV) sales grew 61 per cent (on-year) to reach 2.18 million units in the second quarter this year, a new report said on Monday, as for the first time, China’s BYD Auto became the top-selling EV brand, dethroning Elon Musk-run Tesla.

During Q2, BYD Auto shipped more than 354,000 EV units, an increase of 266 per cent YoY.

Tesla’s global sales grew 27 per cent YoY to over 254,000 units, falling short of expectations.

Although business in the US increased, Tesla’s China business was affected by Covid-19 shutdowns.

In total EV sales, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for almost 72 per cent and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) for the rest, according to Counterpoint Research.

China remained the market leader in EV sales, followed by Europe and the US.

China’s EV sales increased by almost 92 per cent YoY to reach 1.24 million units from just 0.64 million units in Q2 2021.

“As the global semiconductor shortage has eased a bit, automakers are able to cater to the increasing demand for EVs. Moreover, EV sales would have been higher if China had not experienced fresh Covid-19 outbreaks during March,” said senior analyst Soumen Mandal.

The second half of 2022 is expected to deliver better results, but economic downturns, energy crisis, supply chain bottlenecks and rising geopolitical tensions may hinder the growth of China’s automotive market, especially EVs, he mentioned.

BMW’s EV sales during Q2 increased by 18 per cent YoY. The BMW X3 and i-series models are spearheading the company’s push in the BEV segment, while the 5-Series, 3-Series and X5 models are doing the same in the PHEV segment.

“Incentives play a crucial role in increasing EV adoption. For example, China’s strong incentive program for both automakers and consumers has helped the country become the global EV leader,” said Research Vice President Neil Shah.

“Apart from big markets, smaller markets like India, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Malaysia have started providing various benefits for EV buyers and automakers either directly as a rebate in prices or tax exemption,” he added.

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Business

Tesla surpasses 3 mn car production mark

Musk said that the long-awaited Cybertruck (announced in 2019) will also be unveiled soon, though he did not give further details…reports Asian Lite News

Elon Musk has announced that his electric car company Tesla surpassed the milestone of producing 3 million vehicles.

Tesla cars have so far achieved over 40 million miles and the company expects to reach 100 million miles at the end of this year.

“Congrats Giga Shanghai on making the millionth car! Total Teslas made now over 3 mn,” Musk tweeted late on Sunday.

Earlier this month, Musk hinted that Tesla would probably build “at least 10 or 12 gigafactories” in years to come.

Musk said that the long-awaited Cybertruck (announced in 2019) will also be unveiled soon, though he did not give further details.

Tesla reported $16.93 billion in revenue in Q2 and automotive made $14.6 billion of the total sales.

In an earnings call, Musk said that Tesla’s new factory outside of Berlin crossed 1,000 cars per week in June.

Tesla was the third biggest automaker in mainland China in the first half of this year. It delivered almost 200,000 vehicles to customers during this period.

Over 413,000 EVs were sold in the US in H1 2022, including over 64,000 electric pick-up trucks.

“Despite the improved range of vehicle types and EVs from more brands, Tesla still accounted for almost 60 per cent of sales in the US in H1 2022,” according to Chris Jones, VP and chief analyst at Canalys.

Tesla is the leader in the BEV segment, with a strong performance from its Model Y and Model 3 accounting for 565,000 of vehicles sold during H1 2022, giving it a market share of 14 per cent.

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Your lawyers are causing trouble, Musk warns Parag Agrawal

Recently, Musk’s lawyers have said that Twitter officials are unfairly pushing for a “warp speed” trial….reports Asian Lite News

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly texted microblogging platform Twitter’s CEO Parag Agarwal Ned Segal before pulling out of the $44 billion acquisition deal.

Musk texted the Twitter executives that the company’s lawyers were trying to “cause trouble” after they requested information about the status of Musk’s financing for a deal to buy Twitter, according to a lawsuit filed in Delaware, reports Business Insider.

“Your lawyers are using these conversations to cause trouble. That needs to stop, “Musk was quoted as saying in a text to CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal on June 28.”

Recently, Musk’s lawyers have said that Twitter officials are unfairly pushing for a “warp speed” trial.

Twitter’s legal team said in the Delaware Court of Chancery that they would need just a four-day trial to prove that Musk was wrong on his decision to cancel the deal.

Twitter requested the court that the trial be expedited with a start date as soon as September. However, Musk’s legal team replied that it will need time till early 2023 to start the trial.

Musk has also recently demonstrated his “disparaging” behaviour towards Twitter by posting a ‘pile of poop’ emoji as the micro-blogging platform sued him over terminating the takeover deal.

As Twitter sued Musk, the company also submitted an earlier poop emoji reply by the Tesla CEO to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal as evidence of his “disparaging” behaviour toward the platform.

When a follower posted a link about Twitter submitting a poop emoji tweet as evidence of his disparaging behaviour, Musk replied with the same emoji, along with “BS (bullshit)” as text.

In May, Musk attacked Agrawal after the Twitter CEO went into finer details on how the micro-blogging platform is fighting spam and fake accounts, asking the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to probe whether Twitter’s claim on the number of its user base is true.

The Tesla CEO even posted an emoji depicting a “pile of poop” to Agrawal on his Twitter thread that went viral on social media.

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Business Dubai Tech Lite

Tesla Model 3 to join Dubai Taxi fleet on trial basis

These vehicles recorded positive indicators in operational efficiency, especially in terms of zero carbon emissions and a high customer satisfaction rating…reports Asian Lite News

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced that Tesla Model 3 had been added to Dubai Taxi Corporation’s taxi fleet on a trial basis, following the huge success of operating 172 Tesla vehicles in the limousine service since 2017.

The trial operation aims to verify the efficiency of the vehicle when deployed on the taxi fleet in the emirate.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, RTA, said, “The usage of Tesla electric vehicles in Dubai taxi fleet is an exceptional experience, which contributes in realising His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai’s Green Economy for Sustainable Development Initiative. It also supports Dubai Government’s energy and low carbon strategy aimed to make Dubai a model to be emulated in the efficient use of energy and reduced carbon emission.”

“In 2017, RTA started the operation of 172 Tesla vehicles as part of the limousine fleet of the Dubai Taxi comprised of 80 Tesla Model S, 50 Tesla Model X, and 42 Tesla Model 3. These vehicles recorded positive indicators in operational efficiency, especially in terms of zero carbon emissions and a high customer satisfaction rating.

“The success of that experiment prompts us to widen the scope of using electric vehicles as part of the Dubai Taxi fleet over the upcoming years. It supports the initiative of converting 90% of the limo fleet in Dubai into eco-friendly vehicles (hybrid/electric) by 2026. The initiative is the first of its kind worldwide in adopting a semi-total transformation of limousines into environmentally-friendly vehicles,” Al Tayer added.

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