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There were serious concerns before the beginning of Tesla's annual shareholders meeting mostly due to CEO Elon Musk's erratic behavior over the past month or so. But Musk was on his best behavior during the meeting, where some big announcements were made. On the business front, Tesla shareholders voted to keep Antonio Gracias, James Murdoch, and Kimbal Musk on the board, despite criticisms from a group of shareholders that they aren't fully independent from Musk. There was also the proposal of splitting the chairman and CEO posts held by Musk, with one investor saying it has become difficult for Musk to oversee the company. This motion would be defeated. "At Tesla we build our cars with love. At a lot of other companies, they're built by marketing or the finance department and there's no soul. We're not perfect but we pour our heart and soul into it and we really care," said Musk, choking up on the mic after the voting took place. From there, Musk went on to talk about what's in the pipeline for Tesla. He started with the Model 3 by claiming it was the best selling mid-sized premium sedan in the U.S. and had a graph to prove it - though we're a bit dubious as to this claim since the graph doesn't label the x and y axises. Musk also claimed that Tesla is producing 3,500 Model 3s per week and is “quite likely” to be building 5,000 of the sedans a week by the end of this month. This will happen through the addition of a third production line at their Freemont, CA Plant. “The biggest constraint on output is general assembly. We can probably get to 5,000 a week with the current two general assembly lines. But with the third one, I’m highly confident that we can exceed 5,000 units per week,” said Musk. Production of the mystical $35,000 Model 3 will begin sometime early next year according to Musk. In other product news, the Model Y crossover was teased once again. The current plan is to reveal it next March with production to begin in 2020. Autopilot made some news during the meeting as Tesla announced a new free trial to owners who haven't decided to opt-in. Musk revealed that a planned Autopilot upgrade will begin rolling out later this week and promises a marked improvement. Other news from the meeting: Tesla will be adding another plant in Shanghai. The plant will produce battery packs, cars, and powertrains. More details may be announced as soon as next month. Musk also revealed plans to build a plant in Europe towards the end of this year. Tesla service centers will be increasing in size and adding body shops. This could solve one of biggest issues of the current system to repair Teslas involved in accidents. Currently, Tesla requires a body shop to order parts directly from the factory, which takes weeks for parts to be delivered. The semi-truck has been going through various revisions in terms of design and powertrains with the goal of making it a world-wide vehicle. Source: Bloomberg, (2), Reuters, Roadshow -
There were serious concerns before the beginning of Tesla's annual shareholders meeting mostly due to CEO Elon Musk's erratic behavior over the past month or so. But Musk was on his best behavior during the meeting, where some big announcements were made. On the business front, Tesla shareholders voted to keep Antonio Gracias, James Murdoch, and Kimbal Musk on the board, despite criticisms from a group of shareholders that they aren't fully independent from Musk. There was also the proposal of splitting the chairman and CEO posts held by Musk, with one investor saying it has become difficult for Musk to oversee the company. This motion would be defeated. "At Tesla we build our cars with love. At a lot of other companies, they're built by marketing or the finance department and there's no soul. We're not perfect but we pour our heart and soul into it and we really care," said Musk, choking up on the mic after the voting took place. From there, Musk went on to talk about what's in the pipeline for Tesla. He started with the Model 3 by claiming it was the best selling mid-sized premium sedan in the U.S. and had a graph to prove it - though we're a bit dubious as to this claim since the graph doesn't label the x and y axises. Musk also claimed that Tesla is producing 3,500 Model 3s per week and is “quite likely” to be building 5,000 of the sedans a week by the end of this month. This will happen through the addition of a third production line at their Freemont, CA Plant. “The biggest constraint on output is general assembly. We can probably get to 5,000 a week with the current two general assembly lines. But with the third one, I’m highly confident that we can exceed 5,000 units per week,” said Musk. Production of the mystical $35,000 Model 3 will begin sometime early next year according to Musk. In other product news, the Model Y crossover was teased once again. The current plan is to reveal it next March with production to begin in 2020. Autopilot made some news during the meeting as Tesla announced a new free trial to owners who haven't decided to opt-in. Musk revealed that a planned Autopilot upgrade will begin rolling out later this week and promises a marked improvement. Other news from the meeting: Tesla will be adding another plant in Shanghai. The plant will produce battery packs, cars, and powertrains. More details may be announced as soon as next month. Musk also revealed plans to build a plant in Europe towards the end of this year. Tesla service centers will be increasing in size and adding body shops. This could solve one of biggest issues of the current system to repair Teslas involved in accidents. Currently, Tesla requires a body shop to order parts directly from the factory, which takes weeks for parts to be delivered. The semi-truck has been going through various revisions in terms of design and powertrains with the goal of making it a world-wide vehicle. Source: Bloomberg, (2), Reuters, Roadshow View full article
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Yesterday, Ford held its annual shareholder meeting and executives were once again defending the decision to cut most of their car lineup and focusing on trucks and utility vehicles. Automotive News reports that shareholders questioned CEO Jim Hackett and Executive Chairman Bill Ford about the move and the two said the changes are necessary due to the changing tastes of customers. Ford expects 90 percent of its North American mix to be made up of trucks and utility models by 2020. "This doesn't mean we intend to lose those customers. We want to give them what they're telling us they really want. We're simply reinventing the American car," said Hackett. "We don't want anyone to think we're leaving anything. We're just moving to a modern version. This is an exciting new generation of vehicles coming from Ford." Bill Ford blamed the media coverage for the negative reaction to this move. The company officially made the announcement during their first-quarter earnings reports, but rumors of this move had been floating around for over a year. "I wish the coverage had been a little different. If you got beyond the headline, you'll see we're adding to our product lineup and by 2020 we'll have the freshest showroom in the industry. The headlines look like Ford's retreating. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth." We have to think a fair amount of this 'negative' media coverage comes from Ford comes from the lack of information concerning the future of Ford's entry-level lineup and Lincoln. Ford's entry-level crossover is the EcoSport which begins at $19,995 and only returns EPA figures of 27 City/29 Highway/28 Combined (23/25/29 for the AWD model), which will push some buyers away. We don't know if Ford is planning an update to the EcoSport to boost fuel economy figures or has another model in the cards to sit underneath the EcoSport. Lincoln's future is murkier. The only comment made about the brand was by Hackett, saying the Continental (only introduced two years ago) would continue "through its life cycle". This is leading a fair number of people to think the Continental's days are numbered. For now, Ford is focusing on their $25.5 billion cost-cutting goal by 2022 and getting those trucks and SUVs out the door. The hope is this will help Ford's stock price, which has been a major point of contention with shareholders for many years. "I share your frustration. The whole management team does. Look, we want to get the stock price moving. The business can get fitter, and it will get fitter," said Bill Ford. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) -
Yesterday, Ford held its annual shareholder meeting and executives were once again defending the decision to cut most of their car lineup and focusing on trucks and utility vehicles. Automotive News reports that shareholders questioned CEO Jim Hackett and Executive Chairman Bill Ford about the move and the two said the changes are necessary due to the changing tastes of customers. Ford expects 90 percent of its North American mix to be made up of trucks and utility models by 2020. "This doesn't mean we intend to lose those customers. We want to give them what they're telling us they really want. We're simply reinventing the American car," said Hackett. "We don't want anyone to think we're leaving anything. We're just moving to a modern version. This is an exciting new generation of vehicles coming from Ford." Bill Ford blamed the media coverage for the negative reaction to this move. The company officially made the announcement during their first-quarter earnings reports, but rumors of this move had been floating around for over a year. "I wish the coverage had been a little different. If you got beyond the headline, you'll see we're adding to our product lineup and by 2020 we'll have the freshest showroom in the industry. The headlines look like Ford's retreating. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth." We have to think a fair amount of this 'negative' media coverage comes from Ford comes from the lack of information concerning the future of Ford's entry-level lineup and Lincoln. Ford's entry-level crossover is the EcoSport which begins at $19,995 and only returns EPA figures of 27 City/29 Highway/28 Combined (23/25/29 for the AWD model), which will push some buyers away. We don't know if Ford is planning an update to the EcoSport to boost fuel economy figures or has another model in the cards to sit underneath the EcoSport. Lincoln's future is murkier. The only comment made about the brand was by Hackett, saying the Continental (only introduced two years ago) would continue "through its life cycle". This is leading a fair number of people to think the Continental's days are numbered. For now, Ford is focusing on their $25.5 billion cost-cutting goal by 2022 and getting those trucks and SUVs out the door. The hope is this will help Ford's stock price, which has been a major point of contention with shareholders for many years. "I share your frustration. The whole management team does. Look, we want to get the stock price moving. The business can get fitter, and it will get fitter," said Bill Ford. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article -
Volkswagen's recent shareholder meeting could be best described as discordant as many shareholders spewed venom at various Volkswagen executives - most being laid on Volkswagen AG Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch. Bloomberg reports that shareholders grilled various executives on the handling of the diesel emission scandal. Poetsch received the brunt of the criticism with many shareholders expressing concerns of him overseeing the internal investigation of a mess that began when he was the company's CFO. “You are a conflict of interest personified,” said Markus Dufner, managing director of the German Association of Ethical Shareholders meeting. The meeting also featured shouting, arguing, and shareholders trying to remove Poetsch as the chairman of the meeting (which didn't happen). To be fair to the shareholders, it hasn't been a good week for Volkswagen. On Monday, Reuters learned that German prosecutors were investigating former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn and an unidentified executive on market manipulation before the scandal broke. It was revealed later in the week the unidentified executive was Volkswagen Brand Chief Herbert Diess. Yesterday it was revealed that German financial watchdog Bafin filed a complaint with German prosecutors saying the previous management board should be investigated for how long it took the company to disclose the scandal. So while the fires are dying down on one coast, they are only beginning to heat up on another. Source: Bloomberg, Reuters -
Volkswagen's recent shareholder meeting could be best described as discordant as many shareholders spewed venom at various Volkswagen executives - most being laid on Volkswagen AG Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch. Bloomberg reports that shareholders grilled various executives on the handling of the diesel emission scandal. Poetsch received the brunt of the criticism with many shareholders expressing concerns of him overseeing the internal investigation of a mess that began when he was the company's CFO. “You are a conflict of interest personified,” said Markus Dufner, managing director of the German Association of Ethical Shareholders meeting. The meeting also featured shouting, arguing, and shareholders trying to remove Poetsch as the chairman of the meeting (which didn't happen). To be fair to the shareholders, it hasn't been a good week for Volkswagen. On Monday, Reuters learned that German prosecutors were investigating former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn and an unidentified executive on market manipulation before the scandal broke. It was revealed later in the week the unidentified executive was Volkswagen Brand Chief Herbert Diess. Yesterday it was revealed that German financial watchdog Bafin filed a complaint with German prosecutors saying the previous management board should be investigated for how long it took the company to disclose the scandal. So while the fires are dying down on one coast, they are only beginning to heat up on another. Source: Bloomberg, Reuters View full article
