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Strikes against Tesla Sweden leave over 100 charging stalls waiting for power

Credit: TeslaCharging | X

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Tesla drivers and others with electric vehicles (EVs) have had to wait in line to access the company’s Supercharger stations in Sweden during holiday travel in recent weeks, as ongoing sympathy strikes against the company have blocked more than 100 new stalls from getting energized during the winter season.

Sweden’s largest auto and metalworkers union, IF Metall, has been lodging strike efforts against Tesla for over a year now, and ongoing sympathy strikes with the country’s electric utility operators have managed to prevent the company from bringing new Supercharger stalls online.

In response to a video showing long lines at one Swedish Supercharger station, Tesla Charging Director Max de Zegher said in a post on X on Sunday that the company is still working to roll out new stations, despite the situation leaving over 100 new stalls without electricity.

The executive also said that there was currently “no clear path yet to [the chargers] getting turned on,” adding that Swedish EV drivers are suffering in having to wait, while the move was also preventing the country’s EV infrastructure from keeping up with other regions.

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“When Tesla Sweden signs the collective agreement, the strike and sympathy strike ends immediately,” an IF Metall spokesperson wrote in an email to Teslarati.

Specifically, de Zegher said that the company was still rolling out new stations in Malung, Käppen, Vansbro, Idre, Särna, and Sunne, and he encouraged the public in Sweden to reach out to elected officials to help get added sites energized as soon as possible. The news also comes after Tesla officially opened the Supercharger network to all EV brands in Sweden in November.

You can read de Zegher’s full comment on the matter below:

As forecasted, Swedish EV drivers are suffering and EV infrastructure is not keeping up unless Superchargers get energized by the utilities blocking them from getting energized. Tesla Superchargers are critical infrastructure, especially for peak travel days like this. 100+ stalls in Sweden would have been energized this winter, if it wasn’t for sympathy strikes. Despite no clear path yet to getting turned on, we will also continue to invest and build sites for Swedish EV drivers, including more capacity in Malung, Käppen, Vansbro, Idre, Särna, and Sunne. We appreciate the support from the public to help us get Superchargers energized asap. Waiting in line like this is super painful, hurts EV adoption and totally fixable!

At the time of writing, Swedish utility provider Svenska kraftnät has not yet responded to Teslarati’s request for comment.

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READ MORE ON TESLA SWEDEN: Tesla Model 3 named Sweden’s Car of the Year for 2024

Tesla Sweden license plates withheld, with repairs blockade lifted

IF Metall initially launched strike efforts against Tesla Sweden in November 2023, after the company refused to sign a collective bargaining agreement. The labor efforts have since evolved into multiple phases, including efforts to cease imports, withhold Tesla’s license plates for newly registered vehicles, and to halt service and maintenance operations.

Prior to sympathy strikes breaking out over Tesla’s Supercharger stalls connecting to the electrical grid, the company first saw a dockworkers’ union attempt to block vehicles being imported into the country. Tesla later found workarounds for this by delivering the vehicles via ferry from Germany, bypassing the dock’s handling of the units.

Early last year, IF Metall also effectively had a blockade in place on repairs and maintenance at many Sweden-based Tesla service sites, though that was lifted in May as most repairs were approved to continue.

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Tesla has also had to find workarounds for IF Metall encouraging PostNord, the country’s leading mail provider, to withhold the delivery of license plates for the company’s newly registered vehicles. Despite the efforts, Tesla has been able to sign a purchase agreement or leasing contract with buyers in advance, having them retrieve their plates and registration documents directly from PostNord and bring them to pick up their vehicles.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Updated 1/6/25: Added response from an IF Metall spokesperson.

Swedish union pissed off because Tesla is still thriving despite strike: “It’s bullsh*t”

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Elon Musk

Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed

The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.

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Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.

The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.

According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.

Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.

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Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.

The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.

Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.

These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.

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Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.

Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.

The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.

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Elon Musk

FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan

Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.

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Credit: @SecWar/X

U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.

Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.

Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.

The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.

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Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.

“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.

Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.

Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.

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Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.

SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.

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Energy

Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses

The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.

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Credit: Tesla Energy/X

Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.

The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.

According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.

The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.

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Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.

Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.

Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.

The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.

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Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.

The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.

At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.

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