Week 39/24 Highlights: Tesla CEO's visit, Robo-taxi buzz, Full Self-Driving study, Affordable electric cars, and European pricing less than €30,000
Volkswagen is making waves in the electric car market by lowering the price of the base model of the VW ID.3 to 33,330 euros from October, aiming to boost sales. Meanwhile, Tesla finds itself in the spotlight for both its impressive, yet not fully convincing, autonomous driving software and high absenteeism rates at its Gigafactory in Grünheide, Germany.
The German Economics Minister, Robert Habeck, has dashed hopes for new electric car purchase incentives, citing a lack of funds in the federal budget. However, Volkswagen has voluntarily lowered the price of the compact ID.3, and more affordable models are on the horizon.
Tesla's autonomous driving software, FSD, has been described as "impressive" by AMCI Testing, but it requires human intervention every 13 miles during a 1000-mile test. The current status of the software is far from convincing, according to a study, and European Tesla customers have not yet received it due to the need for approval from authorities. Meetings at the supranational level of the UN-ECE have not resulted in a breakthrough for Tesla's FSD software.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has announced that he will personally address the issue of high absenteeism at the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide, Germany. The factory manager, Andre Thierig, reportedly spoke of home visits to employees on sick leave at the factory. However, Tesla CEO Musk appeared to be unaware of this direct approach beforehand and announced that he would look into it. The plant manager defended the practice in response to a report by Handelsblatt.
The rate of absenteeism at the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide is much higher than the German average, which was 5.2 percent in the vehicle industry in 2023.
On a more positive note, Tesla has announced a significant event for October 10, under the theme "We, Robot." The event is expected to showcase a "robotaxi," a fully autonomous electric car, and potentially reveal news about the Optimus project, a humanoid robot. The robotaxi, if revealed, could potentially have differences in hardware equipment compared to previous electric cars.
Observers expect that Tesla will not only showcase its robotaxi on October 10 but also reveal news about the delayed model, which was originally planned for 2023 and is rumoured to be priced at around 23,000 euros.
The electric car market is set to expand with several affordable electric cars, including the T03 from Leap, Fiat Grande Panda, Hyundai Inster, Citroen e-C3, VW ID.2, Skoda Epiq, Renault R5, Cupra Raval, and BYD Seagull, expected to be available for less than 25,000 euros in the coming years.
It's an exciting time for the electric car industry, with innovation and controversy alike driving the market forward. Stay tuned for more updates.
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