Tesla

The US Patent and Trademark Office rejected Tesla’s request to trademark the term for being “merely descriptive” and describing “similar goods and services by other companies,” reports TechCrunch:

Robyn Denholm, who was appointed chair of Tesla’s board of directors after the SEC forced Elon Musk to step down, just sold over $32 million worth of shares in the company. As Electrek notes, it appears that she is close to liquidating her entire position in Tesla, with only 85,000 shares left and 300,440 stock options expiring later this year. Several Tesla investors have urged the board to rein in Musk, who’s political alliance with the Trump administration has done irreparable damage to the company’s brand. But under Denholm’s leadership, the board has done essentially nothing to curb Musk’s worst tendencies.

The restrictions on rare earth minerals and related magnets came in response to Trump’s escalating tariffs and we’re now seeing some direct impact. Tesla’s occasional CEO says his plan to build thousands of Optimus humanoid robots this year is contingent upon the availability of those magnets needed for the robot’s motors.

The company is working on a cheaper Model Y that will initially be made in the US, codenamed E41, but the start of production has been delayed, Reuters reports. Tesla apparently wants to make 250,000 of these vehicles in the US in 2026.

Tesla conducted an internal analysis last year that concluded its upcoming driverless Cybercab is shaping up to be another Cybertruck-level flop, The Information reports:

Tesla has stopped taking orders in China for new Model S and Model X EVs, which are manufactured exclusively in California and imported. With tariffs now at 125 percent on US imports, you can guess why.

Elon Musk’s new single-motor RWD political-statement-on-wheels starts at $69,900, making it the cheapest Cybertruck yet, according to Teslarati. With a range of 350 miles, it also bests the dual-motor AWD model by 25 miles. Range can be extended to 362 miles when opting for the $750 soft tonneau cover but swastikas might be added for free. US deliveries begin in June.

Tesla is certainly sweetening the pot by offering the cheaper Long Range All-Wheel Drive version, which starts at $50,630 including destination and order fees. But given all the chaos swirling around Elon Musk and his company, I can’t recommend this purchase in good conscience. Sure, the Model Y is a very popular car — it was once the best selling car in the world, EV or otherwise — but there are now plenty of EVs you can buy that are not associated with controversial billionaires who make fascist salutes and brag about feeding humanitarian aid programs “into the wood chipper.“ Just saying.

Reports of Elon Musk’s impending departure from the White House could not have been better timed for Tesla’s stock prices, which had started plummeting after its dismal Q1 report was released this morning. Within hours of the news breaking, the price not only recovered but surged an extra 5 percent. (As always when it comes to Musk’s relationship with the Trump administration, let’s see how long that surge lasts.)

That’s Tesla bull Dan Ives from Wedbush reacting to this morning’s first quarter production and delivery report, in which the company clocked a 13 percent decrease in sales year over year. Ives, who strongly believes in Elon Musk’s vision of AI, robotics, and self-driving cars, is nonetheless adamant that the billionaire CEO needs to take the proverbial bull by the horns. He writes:

Is Tesla really cooked? Watch as The Verge transportation editor, Andrew Hawkins, walks us through how Elon Musk’s unprecedented takeover of the federal government has transformed public opinion of his car company into something increasingly toxic instead of futuristic, with some owners suddenly selling their cars even at a loss.

An arrest has been made in connection with a recent incident where someone wearing all black threw Molotov cocktails at vehicles and spray painted “resist” on the doors of a Tesla collision center in Las Vegas.

The company’s sales in January and February are down nearly 43 percent year over year, according to new registration data from the EU. Meanwhile, overall electric vehicle registrations are up 28 percent across the continent, as EVs capture 15.2 percent of total EU market share. People still really like EVs, just not the one associated with Elon Musk.

The Chinese automaker reports 777 billion yuan ($107 billion) revenue for 2024, comfortably topping Tesla’s $97.7 billion over the same period. The two companies shipped similar numbers of EVs last year, but add in BYD’s hybrids and it delivered more than double the vehicles Tesla did.