Why are democrats worried about Musk buying Twitter?

[velik_m]

Seems to me Musk just doesn't gaf because he's eyeing the big prize: US government contracts for Tesla

I'm sure that is coming. The other US manufacturers might also have production issues with tariffs, so i wouldn't put it past them to try and force them to merger with Tesla, when they get into trouble. This is how power consolidation went in Russia. Companies are small potatoes, when you can control entire industries in a large country like USA.

With a dying international law order, the multinational companies are dinosaurs waiting for extinction anyway.

[velik_m]

Stock of the Day: Tesla drops as China-made EV sales plunge 49%

...
The drop on Tuesday came as Tesla's sales of electric vehicles made in China plunged 49.2% in February compared with a year ago. Tesla sold 30,688 China-made EVs, the lowest figure since August 2022.

Chinese-made vehicle sales dropped 28.7% on an annual basis in the first two months of 2025, according to industry data cited by Reuters.

Tesla manufactures Model 3 and Model Y cars in China. Vehicles made in the country are sold internationally.

...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...49/ar-AA1Ae6uO

Tesla electric car sales plunge again in Australia – Model 3 down more than 81 per cent

The plunge in Tesla electric vehicle sales has continued into February, according to the latest official data, with combined sales of the Model Y and Model 3 EVs plunging 71.9 per cent in the month of February, compared to the same month a year earlier.

The data from the Electric Vehicle Council shows that Tesla recorded just 1,592 EV sales in February, down from 5,665 for February last year. For the first two months of the year, sales have slumped 66 per cent to 2,331 from 6,772 in 2024.

Tesla supporters insist the sales plunge – which is also intense in European countries – is only the result of inventory levels and customers waiting for refreshed Model Y, and some increased compe ion.

But most analysts and observers also point to the influence that CEO Elon Musk is having on the market because of his partnership with US president Donald Trump and his open support for far right political causes.

...

https://thedriven.io/2025/03/04/tesl...n-81-per-cent/

[Winehole23]

OSHA issued three $16,550 “serious” violations against Tesla, all at the maximum level for a serious violation.


One violation was for lack of personal protective equipment, stating that an “employee was working in close proximity to energized parts without wearing appropriate personal protective equipment.”


A second violation stated that “Employee(s) were permitted to work in proximity to electric power circuits that were not protected against electric shock by de-energizing and grounding the circuits or effectively guarding the circuits by insulation or other means. The “employee was performing an inspection on an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) cabinet without it being de-energized.” OSHA has a standard, commonly known as the lockout-tagout standard that requires hazardous equipment to be “de-energized” or “locked out” before any maintenance is conducted.


The final item was a violation of an electrical standard, stating that “quality control employees were exposed to electrical hazards while performing tests and inspections on newly installed electrical equipment without prior hazard analysis, warning signs, and communication of safe work procedures.”


Before work began the employer did not ascertain by inquiry or direct observation, or by instruments, whether any part of an energized electric power circuit, exposed or concealed, was so located that the performance of the work could bring a person, tool, or machine into physical or electrical contact with the energized electric power circuit. The employer did not post and maintain proper warning signs where such a circuit existed. The employer did not advise employees of the location of such lines, the hazards involved, and the protective measures to be taken.

https://jordanbarab.com/confinedspac...a-cites-tesla/

[Winehole23]

[velik_m]

US plans to close European consulates and cut state department workforce

The US state department is preparing to shut down a number of consulates that are mainly in western Europe in the coming months and looking to reduce its workforce globally, multiple US officials said on Thursday.

The state department is also looking into potentially merging a number of its expert bureaus at its headquarters in Washington that are working in areas such as human rights, refugees, global criminal justice, women’s issues and efforts to counter human trafficking, the officials said.

Reuters reported last month that US missions around the world had been asked to look into reducing US and locally employed staff by at least 10% as Donald Trump and his billionaire aide Elon Musk have unleashed an unprecedented cost-cutting effort across the US federal workforce.

The Republican president wants to ensure his bureaucracy is fully aligned with his “America first” agenda. Last month he issued an executive order to revamp the US foreign service to ensure “faithful and effective” implementation of his foreign policy agenda.
...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...ate-department

[Winehole23]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...ate-department

maybe Trump wants to bring the CIA home to spy on his domestic enemies

[Winehole23]

hopium reserves depleted

[Thread]

maybe Trump wants to bring the CIA home to spy on his domestic enemies

...and/or teach 'em to better aim. Maybe even some of that OJT, 'eh?

[ChumpDumper]

And yes, we know about the author, Trump s.

https://x.com/RepJackKimble/status/1899331825924813203

[velik_m]

Multiple Teslas Set On Fire in Germany

...
The first car fire was reported at 1.40 a.m. local time, with the subsequent car fires being reported throughout the night.

German police said that no one was injured in the fires, but that all four vehicles were left entirely unusable. Five other vehicles near the fires were also slightly damaged.

Berlin police said that a "political motive" could not be ruled out, and that the State Security Division of the Berlin State Criminal Police Office had taken over the investigation. The unit investigates threats to the state, including terrorism, extremism, and organized crime.

Germany has seen a number of anti-Musk protests in the wake of his endorsement of the far-right AfD party ahead of the country's general election in February, many of them targeting Tesla factories.

An image of Musk making a controversial salute following Trump's inauguration was projected onto Tesla's Gigafactory in Berlin in January. The display featured Musk's gesture alongside the words "Heil Tesla."
...

https://www.newsweek.com/tesla-vehic...n-musk-2044692

[Thread]

And yes, we know about the author, Trump s.

https://x.com/RepJackKimble/status/1899331825924813203

"But I'm President...and their not."

[velik_m]

Tesla Cybertruck deliveries are on hold as trims are flying off the ‘bulletproof’ truck

According to Tesla delivery agents, Cybertruck deliveries are on hold. There’s a containment hold as many owners are reporting trims flying off the supposedly ‘bulletproof’ electric truck.

Many Tesla Cybertruck buyers are taking to forums and social media to report that their deliveries are being pushed.

There are 8 Cybertrucks buyers waiting for deliveries who reported the delay on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum and many more on X and Facebook.

Most are being told by Tesla delivery specialists that there’s a “containment hold” on all Cybertruc deliveries.

A containment hold generally occurs when an automaker finds something wrong with newly produced vehicles and wants to hold deliveries to fix the issue so that it can avoid recalling vehicles in customers’ hands.
...

https://electrek.co/2025/03/13/tesla...etproof-truck/

[Blake]

https://electrek.co/2025/03/13/tesla...etproof-truck/

And we're about to give Tesla huge government contracts for that crap.

What conflict of interest?

[velik_m]

Arson suspected as Tesla vehicles burn at Las Vegas, Kansas City facilities

Police are investigating a possible arson case at a Tesla dealership in Kansas City, Missouri after two Tesla Cybertrucks burned on Monday night.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are working together with the Kansas City Police Department to investigate the fires.

Police said an officer spotted a Cybertruck on fire at the dealership shortly before midnight on March 17. The officer tried to use a fire extinguisher before having to call the Kansas City Fire Department to assist as the fire spread to a second Cybertruck in the parking lot.

...

A similar incident took place in Las Vegas at the Tesla Collision Center around 2:45 a.m. local time on March 18.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said officials received multiple calls on Tuesday night, including from a person who said they heard gunshots. Authorities said a suspect armed with a gun and Molotov tails launched a “targeted attack” on the Tesla location, firing shots and torching multiple vehicles.

“This was a targeted attack against a Tesla facility, ” Koren told reporters during a press conference. “We do believe that it is isolated at this time. We do not believe there is further threat to the general public.”

...

https://globalnews.ca/news/11087022/...as-city-arson/

Tesla Insurance Rates Set To e As Cars Become Vandalism Targets

...

Tesla drivers aren't going to be happy if their insurance rates go up. It's the most expensive premium car brand to insure according to CarEdge, falling just behind Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Bentley, McLaren, Maserati, and Aston Martin.

...

"Tesla Model 3, Model Y, and Model X are the most expensive EV to insure as of February 2025," he confirmed. The cost of full-insurance for a Tesla Model 3, according to Insurify, increased 30 percent last year, to $4,362 annually.

"This is 25 percent higher in cost than the comparable Mercedes Benz A-Class. The annual average cost of full-coverage auto insurance for the Tesla Cybertruck reached $3,813 in 2025," Brannon added.

...

https://insideevs.com/news/753730/te...ism-elon-musk/

Tesla board members, executive sell off over $100 million of stock in recent weeks

...
Elon Musk's brother, Kimbal Musk, who also sits on the board, unloaded 75,000 shares worth approximately $27 million last month, according to a filing.

The chairman of the board, Robyn Denholm, has offloaded more than $75 million dollars worth of shares in two transactions in the past five weeks, federal filings show. The selloffs made by Denholm came as part of a predetermined sales plan.

A number of board members and executives made similar moves in November and December. But the recent sales come at a tumultuous time for Tesla, with the stock falling nearly 50% from a peak in mid-December. The company's shares have suffered most of those losses since President Donald Trump took office and Musk began his controversial governmental cost-cutting efforts as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.
...

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/tesl...y?id=119889047

[Blake]

How do we know those Teslas didn't just blow up on their own upon entering the dealership atmosphere?

[Thread]

https://globalnews.ca/news/11087022/...as-city-arson/



https://insideevs.com/news/753730/te...ism-elon-musk/




https://abcnews.go.com/Business/tesl...y?id=119889047

"law and order" indeed, Little v.

[Thread]

How do we know those Teslas didn't just blow up on their own upon entering the dealership atmosphere?

Lighting cars afire good now, eh, Blake?

[Winehole23]

when a man starts torching people's hopes and dreams, there can be temporal consequences

politics ain't beanbag, that's people's lives you're ing with

[Thread]

when a man starts torching people's hopes and dreams, there can be temporal consequences

politics ain't beanbag, that's people's lives you're ing with

At least they're insured.

[GAustex]

Lighting cars afire good now, eh, Blake?

He’s and all of em been itching to burn something since November

[Winehole23]

At least they're insured.

you don't know that

[Winehole23]

He’s and all of em been itching to burn something since November

you have an active imagination, I think that describes you better

[GAustex]

you have an active imagination, I think that describes you better

Ur just getting started
Get out there and in them streets
Burn something

[Winehole23]

Ur the one spoiling for a fight, GAustex

[GAustex]

Ur the one spoiling for a fight, GAustex

Your side is burning things