Toronto, Ontario — This week we look at automakers and economics as Tesla marks a tumultuous earnings call; Toyota adopts a standard and Hyundai breaks records with its plans to break ground.
Tears for Tesla
Tesla’s Q3 earnings call last week did not entirely go as planned, according to reports that CEO Elon Musk was “almost in tears” and blamed shortcomings on economic conditions.
Reports say that Musk spent the majority of the call noting macroeconomic conditions and interest rates. Some say Musk went as far as to suggest he was delaying Tesla’s Mexico Gigafactory amid rising interest rates. He was also quoted as saying “We [Tesla] dug our own grave with Cybertruck,” adding that it will take Tesla between a year and 18 months to generate positive cash flow for the EV company.
Tesla’s Q3 results were weaker than anticipated, with revenues of US$23.35 billion—far shorter than analyst estimates. Shares fell 15 percent immediately following the news, but Tesla stock remains up 99 percent year-to-date, as of Monday at 11:30 E.T. Shares were trading at US$215.63 per share, up 1.72 percent from open.
Toyota joins the team
Toyota is the latest automaker to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) and will adopt Tesla’s EV charging technology in its 2025 models, the automaker announced last week.
The OEM said it will use NACS ports in “certain” Toyota and Lexus models that are assembled in its Kentucky, U.S. plant.
Toyota joins Ford, General Motors, BMW Group, Hyundai, Genesis, Nissan, Kia, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Volkswagen, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and other automakers in its adoption of NACS.
Hyundai marks a first
Hyundai is the first Korean automaker to build a factory in the Middle East, following the OEM’s announcement to build a production facility capable of 50,000 EV and ICE vehicles per year.
Construction is planned to begin in 2024; production in 2026.
Hyundai follows Lucid Motors in its plan to establish a production presence in the Middle East. Lucid opened the first-ever car manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia in September of this year. The plant will produce 5,000 cars per year, according to the EV manufacturer.
Saudi Arabia hopes to manufacture more than 300,000 cars annually by 2030.
