News
Volkswagen CEO Diess future in jeopardy, no terms met with Supervisory Board
Volkswagen Auto Group CEO Herbert Diess and a Supervisory Board were unable to meet terms that would solidify Diess’ future at the automaker, reports from Germany indicate.
Diess has been on the hot seat at Volkswagen for several months following his vocalization of plans to cut 30,000 or more jobs from the German company’s employment population. Diess warned Volkswagen during an internal meeting that failure to accelerate the company’s transition to electric vehicles could cost some jobs, especially as the automaker continues to lag behind industry leader Tesla.
Herbert Diess (Credit: Volkswagen AG)
Diess and the Supervisory Board, which is comprised of prominent members of Volkswagen and other brands, as well as representatives from large shareholder groups, were unable to come to terms that would extend Diess’ term as VW AG CEO. Handelsblatt writes (paywalled):
“After intensive discussions, the leading supervisory board members from the Porsche and Piëch families, the state of Lower Saxony and the employee representatives were unable to agree on a compromise on the future of the 63-year-old.”
Volkswagen is arguably the world’s most committed and established automaker to the electric vehicle movement. Volkswagen is one of the only well-known, global, mass-market automotive brands to embrace the EV transition with such fervor, and this may have something to do with the tension between Diess and the board. Diess has primarily been the main reason for the accelerated transition, which has solidified Volkswagen as one of the more popular EV brands that came from ICE production. Diess is set on keeping up with Tesla by any means necessary, and losing time and falling further behind Elon Musk’s company is something Diess has warned VW executives about. Speaking of time, “It is precious,” Diess said in the Supervisory Board meeting, according to sources.
Stephan Weil, a member of the Supervisory Board and leader of the Social Democratic Party in Lower Saxony, gave Diess words of approval during his presentation. However, he is not totally on board with Diess’ strategy, calling it “styleless.” Head of the Works Council, Daniela Cavallo, supported Weil’s analysis of Diess’ job performance.
The Board’s discontent with Diess seems to lie on “a lack of strategy of how he wants to develop the Group,” the report from Handelsblatt continues. Unfortunately, Diess’ emphasis on EVs has led to widespread support from other electric car companies, including Tesla, whose CEO Musk has accumulated the respect of Diess in an evident friendship. It appears Diess may not continue at VW if the Supervisory Board meeting has anything to do with it.
Volkswagen recently reported EV delivery totals in Q3 2021 that doubled the same period in 2020, led by the ID.4 all-electric crossover.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
