Volkswagen is cutting staff to reduce personnel and labor costs. VW rolled out a new global performance program to improve vehicle releases and reduce costs.
Management and employee representatives at Volkswagen recently discussed the company’s future and reached an agreement to improve performance. Both parties have agreed to reduce staff starting January 2024.
Volkswagen plans to decrease administrative staff costs by 20%. The legacy OEM will extend its partial retirement scheme to employees born in 1967 and severely handicapped employees born in 1968.
VW will offer selective termination agreements at all levels if necessary. The company states that it will not implement a general termination agreement program. Volkswagen has no intention of filling open positions with workers outside the Group. It plans to fill open positions through Volkswagen’s internal job market.
The German automaker will maintain its hiring freeze and access freeze to the Tarif Plus salary group until further notice.
“With the agreement on the key measures, we are taking a decisive step to move Volkswagen back to a leadership position. This requires not only structural but also personnel reduction measures. As a leading employer, it goes without saying that our actions will be socially responsible.
“In addition to the company’s hiring freeze and stabilization of higher pay grades in the Tarif Plus bracket, which will continue, we agreed with the employee representatives to extend our partial retirement option to all employees born in 1967, thereby reducing the workforce as much as possible along the demographic curve, especially in the administrative units of Volkswagen AG. We will also selectively offer termination agreements at all levels, if necessary. The agreement reached will give us flexibility from 2024 to safeguard profitability and long-term job security,” said Gunnar Kilian, VW Group’s Chief Human Resources Officer.
Volkswagen’s staff cuts are part of the “Accelerate Forward/Road to 6.5” program, designed to improve the company in all areas and [at] all levels.
The program includes measures to improve new vehicle releases. Volkswagen aims to release new vehicles to the market faster, cutting the time from 50 to 36 months. The new program is also designed to make vehicle production more cost-efficient and help the company make a positive earnings contribution of up to €10 billion by 2026.
Volkswagen expects to offset negative effects from inflation and higher raw material costs through its “Accelerate Forward/Road to 6.5 program. VW estimates positive earnings contributions of €4 billion as soon as 2024.
The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via X @Writer_01001101.
News
Tesla China insurance registrations hit Q3 high at 13,400 units
Year-to-date, Tesla’s China registrations are down 6.1% versus 2024 levels.
Tesla’s insurance registrations in China surged to 13,400 units for the week of August 4–10, the highest weekly total so far in the third quarter of 2025. The figure represents a 21.8% increase from the prior week’s 11,000 registrations, as per industry tracking data.
Industry watchers weigh in
Data shared by industry watcher @piloly shows the latest week’s results were 21.8% higher than the previous week, though still down 13.5% year-over-year. After six weeks of Q3 2025, Tesla’s China registrations are tracking 70.9% higher quarter-over-quarter compared to Q2, but remain 11.0% below the same period in Q3 2024. Year-to-date, Tesla’s China registrations are down 6.1% versus 2024 levels.
Tesla China does not release its weekly domestic sales figures, though the company’s overall performance in the country can be inferred through insurance registration data. Fortunately, these registrations are closely tracked by industry watchers as well as automakers such as Li Auto.
More momentum
The August performance so far indicates Tesla may be regaining some momentum after a slower start to the year. Tesla’s sales figures this year have generally lagged behind 2024, thanks in no small part to the company’s changeover to the new Model Y, which was implemented in the United States, China, and Germany.
Tesla China seems to be doing what it can to attract as many customers as possible this quarter. Tesla recently launched a new long-range Model 3 variant in China with a CLTC-rated range of 830 km, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Priced at RMB 269,500 ($37,490), the model is about 14.44% more expensive than the entry-level version and becomes the longest-range Tesla on sale in the market. Tesla is also expected to launch the six-seat Model Y L in China this fall.
Cybertruck
Tesla clears the air on Cybertruck ‘deactivation’ video that is obviously fake
Tesla has cleared the air on the viral video, stating it is fake.
Tesla has cleared the air regarding a video that has been circulating, where the owner claims his Cybertruck was “deactivated” by the company while he was driving.
The video was shared on X and showed a driver pulled over on the side of the road, claiming his Cybertruck had been deactivated by Tesla in the middle of traffic. It is very obviously fake to those who know the company, but these kinds of things have a tendency to pick up steam.
This video is going viral of a Cybertruck “de-activated” in the middle of the road. What’s wild is a lot of people are believing it. People’s hate for Tesla and Elon Musk seems to shadow their critical thinking skills.
It’s likely a YouTube video or something just playing on… pic.twitter.com/HJr00Umjbu
— Jeremy Judkins (@jeremyjudkins_) August 11, 2025
The video shows a screen that says:
“Tesla Cybertruck De-Activated. Critical Issue Detected | Contact Customer Service, Comply with Cease & Desist to Re-Activate. Update Failed, Return to Dealer.”
The same person who posted the video also shared an image of what appears to be a Cease and Desist letter from Tesla, but it is also likely fake:
He also claims Tesla sent him a cease and desist letter because he made a song titled Cybertruck or something like that.
That’s why the error message in the video mentions a cease and desist. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/1zdtGApEfj
— Jeremy Judkins (@jeremyjudkins_) August 11, 2025
The company finally responded to the video on Monday afternoon, stating that the video is, in fact, fake, reiterating that it will not disable vehicles remotely for any reason.
This is fake – that’s not our screen.
Tesla does NOT disable vehicles remotely. https://t.co/QFOLG74AJI
— Tesla (@Tesla) August 11, 2025
It is a shame that these types of things happen, especially as people are prone to believe anything they see on the internet. As there is so much misinformation circulating surrounding Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, it is no surprise that someone would leverage the situation for their own benefit.
If that Cease and Desist letter is not real, perhaps the next one might be. These types of things can truly cause damage to a company’s reputation, and someone getting an idea that Tesla would remotely deactivate a car could prevent them from buying one.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is stepping up for Tesla Service in a big way
Elon Musk has stepped up to resolve a handful of customer issues regarding vehicle service.
Elon Musk is stepping up to help customers in a big way, especially when they are having issues with Tesla’s Service.
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages Tesla owners have is access to Musk through X, his social media platform. Over the years, we’ve seen Tesla add features, refine its cars’ performance, and more, all through asking Musk directly through a post.
Now, Musk is stepping up in another way by resolving a few Service complaints that customers had.
The first occurred last week when a recall on a Tesla battery was not honored by Service. The company sought $30,000 for a replacement and labor, which was not right. Musk responded that he would personally investigate the matter. The vehicle was fixed at no cost as it was a recall, and was ready for pickup the next day.
A Tesla story in four parts. 👏
Pretty nuts that the user in that second post is the CEO of a trillion-dollar company. pic.twitter.com/5VhXLka5s8
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 8, 2025
It also revealed a new strategy Tesla is using to combat service communication issues:
Tesla creates clever solution to simplify and improve its Service
The next occurred with a Cybertruck owner who was in Japan. Their car was parked at an airport in the U.S. and had lost a vast majority of its state of charge, leaving them just fifty miles of range at the time.
Musk reached out to the owner and said Service will take care of the car and will investigate the cause of the battery drain:
This is strange. Tesla service will take care of your car and we will find out why this happened and fix it.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 8, 2025
There are not too many companies out there where the CEO will get involved with individual issues like these. It’s pretty exclusive to Tesla, as Musk has commonly stepped up to resolve complaints with vehicles or to confront features that some owners might find useful.
Service has been a weak point of the company for some time, but it has worked to refine and resolve customer complaints by building more Service Centers across the world that can handle these issues.
Tesla China insurance registrations hit Q3 high at 13,400 units
Tesla clears the air on Cybertruck ‘deactivation’ video that is obviously fake
Elon Musk is stepping up for Tesla Service in a big way
-
Elon Musk6 days agoElon Musk teases crazy new Tesla FSD model: here’s when it’s coming
-
Elon Musk3 days agoElon Musk confirms Tesla AI6 chip is Project Dojo’s successor
-
News2 weeks agoTesla hints a smaller pickup truck could be on the way
-
News3 days agoTesla Model Y L reportedly entered mass production in Giga Shanghai
-
Elon Musk4 days agoTesla CEO Elon Musk details massive FSD update set for September release
-
News2 weeks ago
Elon Musk highlights Tesla Model Y’s most underrated feature
-
News2 weeks agoTesla takes first step in sunsetting Model S and X with drastic move
-
Cybertruck3 days agoTesla’s new upgrade makes the Cybertruck extra-terrestrial