Volkswagen to cut thousands of jobs in €4bn modernisation drive June 5, 2019 Volkswagen will invest as much as €4bn (£3.6bn) until 2023 to digitalise its operations. The automotive giant said this morning it could cut up to 4,000 jobs in non-production units in the process. But, it added, the move will also create “at least 2,000” jobs elsewhere. The job cuts will come in Germany. Read more: [...]
Is too much talent bad for business? June 4, 2019 Looking at the result of Saturday’s Champions League final, you might be forgiven for thinking that the relationship between top talent and overall team performance is a linear one. While Tottenham are by no means a talentless side, they were beaten on the night by a Liverpool team that arguably contains a higher proportion of [...]
Elon Musk’s Space X launches 60 satellites for Starlink internet project May 24, 2019 Elon Musks’s Space X, the private aerospace company, has launched 60 small satellites into orbit today, marking a major step for the billionaire entrepreneur’s space-based internet system Starlink. Read more: Elon Musk says Tesla will launch a fleet of robotaxis in 2020 A Space X Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellites, which each weigh about 230kg [...]
US stocks end the week down as trade concerns linger May 18, 2019 US stocks fell on Friday, bringing the three-day gains to a halt as the stand off with China over trade talks continued. The S&P 500 ended the session with a 0.6 per cent loss, despite climbing earlier in the day, following a report that a date for the next round of talks between Washington and Beijing [...]
Honda leads £8.6m fundraising round in smart battery software firm Moixa May 14, 2019 Car maker Honda has led a completed £8.6m fundraising round for smart battery software company Moixa. The firm makes software managing energy storage systems, which can help make home energy systems and electric vehicle batteries more efficient, and recently partnered up with Honda at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The two plan to work [...]
The real revolution in electric vehicles… May 13, 2019 Electric vehicles (EVs) have reached a clear inflection point. Product quality has improved and consumer availability is expanding rapidly. Perhaps most importantly, the cost of electric car ownership is finally approaching parity with traditional combustion engine cars. The colourful stories within the industry have also helped generate interest: the spectacular and turbulent growth story of [...]
Tesla CEO Elon Musk faces trial over British diver ‘pedo’ tweet May 13, 2019 Elon Musk is set to face trial after calling a diver who helped rescue the Thai schoolboys trapped in a cave a ‘pedo’ in a tweet. Vern Unsworth is suing Tesla founder Musk after the billionaire called him a “pedo guy” on Twitter. Read more: Why Elon Musk now owes $507m to banks The Brit [...]
First details of Dyson’s electric car plans revealed May 9, 2019 The patents for Dyson’s first electric vehicle have been made public, providing the first glimpse of the car that the UK-based company hope will compete with the likes of Tesla. Read more: Rolls-Royce boss Warren East steps back from Dyson board Dyson filed the patents 18 months ago after launching the £2bn project in 2017, [...]
Tesla closes $2.7bn offering as it raises cash to fuel expansion plans May 8, 2019 Electric car company Tesla said today it had closed its $2.7bn (£2.08bn) offering of stock and convertible notes in an offering it said was oversubscribed. The fundraise gives Tesla some much needed cash as it tries to boost production. Tesla sold about $1.84bn in debt and $860m shares, with underwriters exercising their option to buy [...]
Revealed: Elon Musk’s half-a-billion dollar debt to banks helping Tesla fundraise May 3, 2019 Tesla boss Elon Musk personally owes $507m (£389m) to the Wall Street banks helping the electric car firm raise up to $2.3bn, it emerged yesterday. Read more: Tesla looks to strengthen with $2.3bn fundraising round The lending was disclosed in a Tesla prospectus for the fundraising, and showed the debt to be $117m less than [...]