Has Tesla Run Into One Too Many Roadblocks?

In the last few years, the electric vehicle (EV) industry has grown leaps and bounds, with the industry witnessing the introduction of numerous new players, including unconventional brands such as Xiaomi and Huawei.

These are just a few names that have entered the arena after the technology grew in popularity. At the same time, established automakers that offered internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles also took a shine to EVs.

One of the major contributing factors to this explosion is the Elon Musk-led EV company—Tesla.

Tesla came swinging in with a fresh take on automotive design and experiences. While it can’t promise full self-driving as yet, complete autonomous mobility is its ultimate goal.

Yet, despite being an industry leader with some of the highest sales in the market and continuing to lead with innovations, the company is experiencing a rough patch.

Earlier this week (on Monday), Tesla notified its employees at its Austin facility that they needn’t come in to work for the following three days. The Austin factory is where Tesla assembles its Cybertruck model.

Through a memo shared, the company said, “On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week (Dec. 3-5), you do not need to report to work.”

However, the workers were informed they would receive pay for the days and were scheduled to return to the production lines on Friday, December 6. At the same time, the automaker mentioned that some workers wouldn’t follow the adjusted schedule and would be notified separately.

Moreover, some workers said their schedules have been inconsistent since October, while some assembly line workers were diverted to other tasks to complete their hours or even sent home in some cases. This follows a similar move in April, which saw shifts shortened.

While Tesla didn’t comment on the matter, the prevailing theory is that the move comes due to dwindling demand for its Cybertruck model.

At one point, Tesla had around 2 million pre-orders, yet the automaker recently revealed that it can deliver Cybertrucks immediately. As such, many experts believe not all its pre-sale bookings were serious buyers—which doesn’t seem so unbelievable since the pre-booking amount was just $100.

The estimate is that just around 50,000 buyers were actually interested in the vehicle. Further estimates show that only around 28,000 Cybertrucks were sold in the first three quarters of 2024. However, this marked the EV as the third-highest-selling EV in the US for that period. Yet, this is far from Musk’s goal of selling 250,000 Cybertrucks a year.


One of the reasons for its lowering demand also points to the six recalls the vehicle has seen this year, along with rising costs and studies that point to Tesla having the highest fatal accident rate.

In just the last week, there have been at least two reports of fatal crashes involving Tesla vehicles, one in California and the other in the New York area.

Essentially, all this boils down to the possibility that Tesla might be sitting on a huge inventory of Cybertrucks and is looking to slow down for a while.

Another theory is that Tesla is interested in new technologies for its future vehicles and is plotting a pivot in that direction.

As per a report, Elon Musk and Tesla are looking towards hydrogen fuel cell technology now, a move that’s expected to begin in 2025. This technology could help solve problems with EVs such as short range and long charging times.

However, the trouble didn’t stop there for Elon Musk.

Earlier in the week, the tech mogul’s record-breaking $56 billion pay package, which would make him the highest-paid executive, would not be reinstated. With Tesla shares soaring in the past few weeks, the value of the compensation package jumped to $100 billion.

The Delaware judge cited that the Tesla board, which voted to restore the deal, was too close to Musk and their decision didn’t protect shareholders’ interests, in addition to Tesla making “material misstatements” to shareholders about the effect of their vote.

Do you think Tesla will continue to be a leader in the EV industry? Do you think the company should retain its current EV technology or switch to hydrogen fuel cell technology?

Let us know in the comments below!