• Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi just unveiled its second EV, the YU7.
• Morgan Stanley analysts predicted that the electric SUV would be another threat to Tesla in China.
• Tesla's sales have struggled in China amid fierce local competition.

One of Tesla's biggest Chinese rivals just unveiled a new EV — and it could be a major headache for Elon Musk.

Smartphone maker Xiaomi showed off the YU7 at an event in Beijing on Thursday, with the electric SUV set to compete directly with Tesla's best-selling Model Y.

Xiaomi said the YU7 was a "luxury high-performance SUV," with high-tech features including intelligent door handles and a panoramic "hypervision" display below the windshield.

The company said the YU7 has a maximum speed of 253 kilometers (157 miles) an hour and can hit 100 km/h in 3.23 seconds.

It will have a maximum range of 835km (518 miles) and can add 620km (400 miles) of range in 15 minutes of charging, Xiaomi said.

Xiaomi did not say how much the YU7, its second EV, will cost. In a social media post before the unveiling, CEO Lei Jun said the SUV would go on sale in July.

The YU7 threatens to pile the pain on Tesla, which is already battling underwhelming sales in China amid brutal competition from local rivals.

Morgan Stanley analysts led by Adam Jonas and Andy Meng wrote in a note previewing the YU7's launch that the new SUV would be another challenge to Tesla.

"We find market expectations around Tesla's near-term automotive business remain too high and do not fully reflect the quantum of incremental capacity and competition coming out of China, ultimately having an impact in international markets. Understanding this will help make more sense out of Tesla's 'all-in' push into autonomy," they wrote.

The bank's analysts predicted the YU7 would replicate the sales success of Xiaomi's SU7, which notched up 120,000 pre-orders in 36 hours when it went on sale last year, saying the Model Y rival had "stunning design" combining the looks of a Ferrari or Aston Martin with the price tag of a Volkswagen.

"The YU7 is just the latest sign that Chinese tech firms are taking EV performance and cost to the next level. China may have already won the EV battle," the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote. Both the SU7 and YU7 were years ahead of comparable models offered by Ford, they added.

While both Xiaomi cars are only available in China, that may not be the case for long. Xiaomi confirmed in March that it aimed to sell EVs in overseas markets by 2027.

Morgan Stanley's analysts estimated that competition from Chinese rivals would affect Tesla's international sales.

They wrote that market expectations around Tesla's near-term automotive business remain "too high," adding that the quality of China's EV offerings justified Musk's push to pivot the company toward autonomous vehicles.

Xiaomi's EV push hasn't all been plain sailing. Its sales have reportedly dipped over the past month amid claims of misleading marketing on the high-end SU7 Ultra and concerns over a fatal crash involving an SU7 in March.

The crash, in which three people died after their SU7 hit a cement barrier shortly after disengaging from driver assist mode, sparked a regulatory crackdown on autonomous driving features in China.

• BYD sold more electric cars than Tesla in Europe for the first time in April.
• Sales of the Chinese brand jumped as Tesla grapples with backlash over Elon Musk's politics.
• Tesla's European sales have collapsed this year, despite Musk insisting it doesn't have a demand problem.

BYD just scored a major win against Tesla in one of its biggest markets.

The Chinese electric vehicle giant outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time last month, as Elon Musk's automaker saw its sales collapse amid furious backlash over its CEO's politics.

BYD sold 7,230 battery-electric vehicles in April, compared to 7,165 for Tesla, according to JATO Dynamics data.

It's a major milestone for the Chinese brand, and suggests BYD has taken advantage of Tesla's alarming decline in Europe.

ƒNew Tesla registrations dropped nearly 50% in April compared to the same month last year, while BYD sales surged 169% over the same period, per JATO Dynamics data.

BYD outsold Tesla without even taking hybrid sales into account. The Chinese carmaker sold 12,525 vehicles last month, meaning its total sales comfortably outstripped Tesla, which only sells battery-powered EVs.

Tesla has taken a battering this year in Europe, its third-largest market after the US and China. The automaker's European sales were down 30% in the first three months of 2025, according to JATO Dynamics, despite EV sales rising overall.

The automaker has faced a wave of backlash over CEO Musk's role in the Trump administration and endorsement of German far-right party AfD.

In an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, Musk denied Tesla was facing a sales slump. That was despite Tesla reporting its weakest quarter for deliveries since 2022 last month as it retooled factories for the launch of its updated Model Y.

"Europe is our weakest market. We're strong everywhere else. Sales are doing well at this point, we don't anticipate any meaningful sales shortfall," said Musk.

By contrast, BYD is racing to launch new models as it seeks to capitalize on its explosive growth in Europe.

The Chinese brand unveiled the Dolphin Surf, the European version of its cheap Seagull EV, on Wednesday.

The compact hatchback will go on sale in 15 European markets in June, with prices starting at 23,000 euros ($26,000) — about $19,000 less than Tesla's cheapest model.

Having challenged Tesla in China, BYD is eyeing aggressive expansion overseas. The EV giant sold 79,000 vehicles outside China last month, nearly double the total in April 2024.

• Elon Musk is stepping back from DOGE to focus on Tesla, as the company faces many challenges.
• BI spoke to four people who worked with him about what the billionaire is like as a company leader.
• One said Musk was Tesla's "product manager," but questioned whether he is what the embattled company needs.

Elon Musk is turning his attention back to Tesla — and apparently for the long haul. The question is whether Musk's re-dedication to Tesla is what the electric carmaker needs right now.

The billionaire said this week he was committed to leading Tesla for the next five years, adding he would only stop running it "if I'm dead."

Investors have applauded Musk's renewed commitment to Tesla, with the stock up more than 40% since he signaled he was stepping back from the Trump administration and its DOGE cost-cutting efforts.

Musk's DOGE work — and the ensuing vandalism and protests that targeted his company — had normally bullish analysts urging him to refocus on Tesla. Days after Musk announced he was stepping back from DOGE to do that, Tesla's chair denied a report it had explored replacing him as CEO.

Business Insider spoke with former employees at Musk's companies — three Tesla, one SpaceX — about what he is like as a business leader and what his re-dedication to Tesla means at a time when the company is suffering from falling sales, growing competition from rivals like BYD, and a critical robotaxi launch next month.

Tesla and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

The innovator in chief

Musk's importance to Tesla is undeniable.

Chris Walti, who led development of the Optimus humanoid robot before leaving Tesla in 2022 to found robotics startup Mytra, said he saw how the company's flat management structure meant Musk had a larger influence over Tesla's product direction than most CEOs.

He said that during his time at the company, Musk was "the product manager for the whole company." "That direction comes down, and then the engineers execute," he added.

Gene Berdichevsky, a former Tesla tech lead and the company's seventh employee, worked there when Musk was a major investor and board member. He said the billionaire brought a fanatical attention to detail even before he became CEO in 2008.

Berdichevsky recalled when the company was building the first prototype of its Roadster. "We spent the afternoon after the board meeting driving it around the parking lot and getting into all the details," he said.

He added that having Musk more focused on Tesla would up its chances of beating rivals to "the next big thing."

"The revolutionary product isn't obvious when it first shows up. But I think that Elon's always pushing for something revolutionary, and you don't have to always be right, because when you are, you get really, really good outcomes," said Berdichevsky, who now runs battery materials firm Sila Nanotechnologies.

Scrappiness vs scale

Tobias Kahnert, the CEO of powertrain startup EFT Mobility, was a senior Tesla software engineer when the company was struggling to ramp up production of the Model 3.

Musk has previously said he slept on the factory floor as Tesla grappled with the "production hell" of scaling the mass-market EV.

Kahnert told BI that Musk and other Tesla leaders pushed to balance the "scrappiness" of innovating quickly with the need to convert Tesla's startup mentality into "something that actually scales."

"Even being there, you sometimes thought, 'OK, this isn't the normal way of how we would do it.' Then often it only turned out a lot later that this approach was the right one," he said.

Musk is famously demanding. Walti said he would get "texts on Sunday at 3 a.m. and was expected to respond in 15 minutes."

"That's not for everyone. Some people just get burned out," he said.

While Musk runs companies with a range of focuses, Tesla will benefit from him being an "extremely good design engineer," said Quincy Lee, who worked at SpaceX for six years and helped roll out its Starlink satellite network.

"I've been in meetings with him, and I spent a lot of time with his executive staff," said Lee, who now runs EV charging startup Electric Era.

"He's extremely good at physics, and he's really good at manufacturing. And of course, he's a good businessman, and he's able to pull all of that into a really strong set of skills," Lee told BI.

Difference-maker or distraction?

Musk is known for pushing Tesla in ambitious new directions. But when the company's Q1 delivery figures showed it was in trouble, none of the analysts BI spoke to said it needed to take a big swing to make a comeback.

They said it should launch new models, improve its battery tech, and advertise more. The company has not launched a new vehicle since the Cybertruck in 2023, and sales of the electric pickup have underwhelmed.

Walti told BI Musk seemed "kind of bored with just building good products that the market needs."

"If it's not audacious, and if it's not against the grain, it feels like it doesn't personally interest him," he added.

"His connection with the customer 10 years ago was awesome. Elon had a really good sense of what the customer wanted. I don't know if that's the case anymore," Walti continued.

Tesla is racing to launch a robotaxi service in Austin next month, and Musk has said that Tesla's future lies in self-driving cars and Optimus.

Tesla has said it will also launch an affordable electric car model this year, but has not provided details. Reuters reported in April that the new EV could be a stripped-down version of Tesla's Model Y.

Walti said that he'd like to see the company build more mass-market EVs, but added, "Part of me is like, I don't know if Musk is the right person for the role. Not because he couldn't do a good job, but because I don't think he is genuinely excited about it."

But Kahnert said that Musk had an ability to push through decisions that others wouldn't agree with, making him a "differentiator" that other carmakers lack.

He said it is hard to say whether that was what the company needed, adding it was, "always hard, even while you are inside Tesla, to see and to acknowledge how much he benefits Tesla at times and how much he is distracting Tesla at times."

• Elon Musk was interviewed Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha.
• The Tesla CEO said he was more concerned about his level of control than a huge payday.
• Musk said he "can't be sitting there and wondering if I'm going to be tossed out."

Elon Musk has said he will still be CEO of Tesla in five years — unless he dies.

In a video interview at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday, the billionaire said he was committed to leading Tesla until at least the end of the decade and would stop only "if I'm dead."

His comments come as doubts have emerged about Musk's future at the electric vehicle giant, which has become a target of protests and vandalism over Musk's work cutting the federal workforce with the White House DOGE office.

Earlier this month, Tesla's chair, Robyn Denholm, denied that the automaker's board had begun scouting for a new CEO. A Wall Street Journal report had said board members had contacted recruitment firms.

In a combative interview with Bloomberg's Mishal Husain in Qatar, Musk said he was confident the legal dispute in Delaware over his huge pay package would not affect his compensation.

He said he was more concerned about his level of control over Tesla than a multibillion-dollar payday: "It's not a money thing. It's a reasonable control thing over the future of the company, especially if we're building millions, potentially billions, of humanoid robots," Musk said.

"I can't be sitting there and wondering if I'm going to be tossed out," Musk added.

Stock revival

Musk also faced questions over Tesla's rocky start to the year, with the automaker reporting a drop in first-quarter deliveries last month as it battled plunging sales, particularly in Europe.

The Tesla CEO denied the company was experiencing lackluster sales, saying Tesla had "already turned around" and pointing to the share price revival over the past month.

"Europe is our weakest market. We're strong everywhere else. Sales are doing well at this point, we don't anticipate any meaningful sales shortfall, and obviously the stock market recognizes that, since we're now back over a trillion dollars in market cap," he said.

Tesla's European sales fell 37% in the first three months of 2025 compared with last year, according to European Automobile Manufacturers' Association data, even as overall EV sales increased.

Tesla stock rose 0.8% in Tuesday-morning trading in New York.

• Volkswagen has turned to Tesla rival Rivian to fix its software woes.
• The companies sealed a $5 billion partnership in 2024, with Rivian providing tech for VW's new EV.
• A Rivian exec told BI the nearly 100-year-old German automaker had embraced Rivian's "startup DNA."

Rivian and Volkswagen's partnership has injected the nearly 100-year-old German automaker with a dose of "startup DNA", according to one of the Tesla rival's top executives.

The two companies struck a $5 billion deal last year to form a joint venture to develop next-generation EV technology, and Rivian's chief software officer told Business Insider that he was impressed by how willing the legacy carmaker had been to change its culture and embrace the startup's Silicon Valley vibes.

"One of the reasons we really leaned in heavily into the partnership was the willingness of the Volkswagen leadership to change culture within the group," said Wassym Bensaid, who also serves as co-CEO of the joint venture.

"They were willing to adopt a much more agile, iterative, innovative approach to the entire development lifecycle, and keep the startup DNA that Rivian brings," the executive added.

The partnership will see software and electrical architecture developed by Rivian appear in a range of Volkswagen vehicles, including a $22,500 electric car VW unveiled in March.

Like other legacy automakers, the historic German brand has struggled to develop vehicle software that can match the kind of high-tech features offered by Tesla and Chinese rivals like BYD.

Volkswagen's in-house software division, Cariad, has faced delays and high-profile glitches despite burning through billions of dollars.

The failure to develop advanced software has proved particularly damaging in China, where consumers have come to expect EVs packed with AI-powered features such as voice control, autonomous driving, and even in-car karaoke.

Volkswagen's sales collapsed nearly 10% in China in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Speaking on the sidelines of The Financial Times' Future of the Car conference, Bensaid said the challenges Volkswagen has faced were far from unique.

"The same problem that we need to solve for Volkswagen exists in pretty much every single traditional automaker," he said.

Bensaid added that building software-defined vehicles would require legacy carmakers to undergo "deep cultural change" and become flatter and less hierarchical, whilst also hiring "very different talent."

"You need very different engineers who know how to build things and not just engineers who manage third-party suppliers in a black-box way," he said.

Bensaid said many carmakers would likely find it easier to follow Volkswagen's lead and license software from tech-focused companies like Rivian, adding that he expects tech licensing to become a much bigger part of the EV startup's business in the next few years.

"Volkswagen as a company tried to basically make the pivot and get to a software-defined vehicle. And they ended up concluding that a partnership [with Rivian] could be a great way to achieve that," Bensaid said.

• Tesla has announced that longtime Chipotle executive Jack Hartung will join the EV giant's board.
• Hartung served as CFO of the fast-food chain for 22 years before becoming president last year.
• Tesla's board has faced scrutiny over a report that it began searching for a new CEO to replace Elon Musk.

Tesla has tapped a veteran Chipotle executive to be the newest member of its board of directors.

Jack Hartung, who served as CFO of the Mexican fast-food chain for 22 years, will join Tesla's board in June, the automaker announced on Friday.

Hartung moved from CFO to president and chief strategy officer of Chipotle last year, following the departure of CEO Brian Niccol to lead Starbucks.

Tesla said he would retire from his executive role on June 1st but would remain a senior advisor to Chipotle.

Hartung will also be a member of the board's audit committee, Tesla said.

Hartung becomes the ninth member of Tesla's board, which is chaired by Robyn Denholm and also includes Elon Musk, his brother Kimbal, and Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia.

It comes as the board, which traditionally has played a low-key role in the running of the EV giant, faces growing scrutiny amid Tesla's difficult start to the year.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that members of Tesla's board had contacted recruitment firms to begin the search for a new CEO to replace Musk.

Board chair Denholm and Musk both denied the accuracy of the story, which came as Tesla faces collapsing sales across the globe and a wave and protests and vandalism over Musk's work at DOGE.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment sent outside normal working hours.

• Uber is racing to add robotaxis to its ride-hailing network, even as drivers express concerns.
• Uber's robotaxi chief said the role of human drivers will soon change, with robotaxis set to dominate in city centres.
• However, he added that Uber will still need human drivers, with self-driving cars struggling in extreme weather.

Uber drivers are already sharing the road with robot rivals — and it could be about to change their jobs forever.

Senior VP Andrew Macdonald, who oversees Uber's autonomous vehicle operations, said that although human drivers would remain crucial to its ride-hailing business, they will soon face serious competition from self-driving taxis in city centers.

"I am almost certain that there will be more Uber drivers in 10 years, not less, because I think the world will move from individual car ownership to mobility as a service," said Macdonald, who was speaking during The Financial Times' Future of the Car conference.

"You'll continue to see that pie grow. But it will look different. You'll have urban cores where a large percentage of trips are serviced by autonomous vehicles. And to some, that will feel like very abrupt change," he added.

Uber has struck multiple deals with robotaxi companies to host their autonomous vehicles on its app over the past year.

The ride-hailing giant currently allows users to hail Waymo vehicles in Austin and Phoenix, with Atlanta set to follow later this year.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi hailed the Austin launch as a major success in Uber's earnings call last week, telling analysts that the Waymo robotaxis in Austin were busier than "99%" of its human drivers.

Uber's aggressive self-driving push — which has also seen it strike deals with Volkswagen, Wayve, and Chinese firms WeRide and Pony.AI — has come as its drivers express growing concern about the impact of driverless taxis on their livelihoods.

Uber drivers in Phoenix previously told Business Insider that their earnings are already being hurt by competition from Waymo, with some saying they intend to shun short-distance city center trips in favor of more profitable airport pickups.

Macdonald said that he didn't think the growth of the robotaxi industry was having an effect on driver earnings or opportunities just yet.

However, he added that he expected drivers would start feeling the impact soon in cities where robotaxis are becoming common, such as Austin, LA, and parts of China.

Macdonald said that Uber was pursuing a "hybrid marketplace" with a mix of human and robot drivers handling different types of routes.

"You can get an autonomous vehicle on the Uber platform in Austin today, we're available in 37 square miles," he said.

"If you're outside that area, you can get a human driver. If you're going from inside that area to outside, you can get a human driver. If you're going to the airport or on highways right now, it takes a human driver. There's a lot of value to having that hybrid," he added.

Macdonald said some of these journeys would "move more autonomous over time," but that the shift would create "other opportunities" for Uber drivers.

While autonomous vehicles are mostly limited to city centers and urban areas right now, Waymo is waiting on approval to offer airport drop-offs and pick-ups in multiple cities, and has said it is testing its robotaxis on freeways.

Despite this, the Uber executive believes there will be some situations that can only be handled by human drivers, such as bouts of extreme weather like blizzards or hailstorms.

"Even if an autonomous vehicle can handle 99% of weather cases, there's 1% of cases where maybe those cars need to pull over," said Macdonald.

"When you're running a fleet of 400 vehicles in a city, and all of them have to pull over at once, what happens to your ride-hailing service? For us, we send a bunch of humans to pick you up," he added.

Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Rivian is teaming up with VW to make the German brand's cheapest-ever EV: the $22,500 ID Every1.
• Its software boss told BI it's proof that cut-price electric cars don't need to be low-tech.
• The race to build lower-cost EVs is heating up, with Slate Auto recently launching a $25,000 truck.

Rivian and Volkswagen are teaming up to build more affordable electric vehicles, but that doesn't mean they're planning to skimp on high-tech features.

The Tesla rival is partnering with Volkswagen to develop a $22,500 electric car, and Wassym Bensaid, Rivian's chief software officer, said the coming EV wouldn't compromise on tech despite its low price point.

VW and Rivian announced a deal last year for the German car giant invest over $5 billion in the startup and form a joint company to develop next-generation software and EV technology, with Bensaid and VW exec Carsten Helbing as co-CEOs.

In March, VW unveiled the ID Every1, a compact electric hatchback set to be the first VW vehicle to include software developed in the joint venture.

The 13-foot-long four-seater is set to go on sale in Europe by 2027 for about 20,000 euros, roughly $22,500. VW has not said whether it has any plans to bring it to the US.

"It's something which is extremely close to my heart because it's a way to bring that technology into many more cars," Bensaid told Business Insider.

"Inexpensive cars shouldn't have low technology, and this is the beauty of the setup that we're enabling through the joint venture," said the Rivian executive, who spoke with BI on the sidelines of the Financial Times' Future of the Car conference.

Bensaid said the lower-cost hatchback would leverage Rivian's software architecture to cut costs.

Rather than individual computers controlling components like seats, lights, and doors, all of ID Every1's features are set to be handled by a central computer built on Rivian's technology, which Bensaid said would save VW money because it uses fewer parts and simplifies the design.

The ID Every1 will not be the first vehicle to use technology developed by the Rivian-VW joint venture — that's Rivian's R2, which is set to launch next year — but it's a huge step for both companies.

A lack of affordable EVs remains one of the main reasons customers are reluctant to go electric, and VW is betting that its cheapest-ever battery-powered offering will help fill that gap.

It's not the only one making that bet. The startup Slate Auto caused a stir last month when it unveiled a $25,000 pickup truck, which is set to go on sale in the US in 2026.

The Slate truck has bucked the trend of vehicles becoming more computerized and packed with smart technology.

The base model lacks power windows, a radio, and any kind of built-in infotainment system, with Slate's CEO telling BI that the company had focused on simplicity to keep the price as low as possible.

So far, consumers haven't seemed that bothered by the lack of bells and whistles, with the Jeff Bezos-backed startup receiving 100,000 refundable $50 reservations in just two weeks.

When asked about Slate's approach, Bensaid said Rivian welcomes more competition in the EV market but had made a "different choice" in how it approaches making electric cars more affordable.

"Inexpensive cars shouldn't be cars with limited features," he said, adding that Rivian believed it was possible to deliver a "rich user experience" at a low price point by making vehicle technology more efficient.

"That is our approach," Bensaid said. "We would like to enable choice for customers but without such severe compromise in terms of the overall experience."

• Nissan said it would cut 20,000 jobs and close seven factories on Tuesday.
• The Japanese automaker is mired in a financial crisis and faces a major headache from Trump's tariffs.
• It said tariffs could cost it as much as $3 billion and warned it may shift US models to other markets.

Nissan has announced another round of brutal cost-cutting as Trump's tariffs threaten to derail attempts to turn the struggling carmaker around.

The beleaguered Japanese giant said on Tuesday it would cut 20,000 jobs and cut its production facilities from 17 to 10 by 2027 as it slipped deeper into crisis.

The job losses include the 9,000 layoffs announced late last year as part of a turnaround plan to improve the automaker's dire financial position.

The company reported a net loss of 671 billion Yen ($4.5 billion) for the 2024 financial year, and said it would not issue an operating profit forecast for 2025 because of uncertainties over US tariffs.

Nissan has come under intense pressure from Chinese automakers and has struggled to develop a compelling lineup of electric vehicles, despite pioneering the mass-market EV with the Nissan Leaf in 2010.

CEO Makoto Uchida was replaced by Nissan veteran Ivan Espinosa in March after the collapse of a $50 billion merger with rival Honda.

Espinosa is seeking cost reductions of 250 billion yen ($1.7 billion) with the new turnaround plan, but the Nissan boss faces an additional threat from the Trump administration's tariff barrage.

The Japanese firm, which counts the US as one of its most important markets, is especially vulnerable to Trump's 25% tariff on imported vehicles because it exports several models to the US from Mexico and Japan.

Nissan said on Tuesday it estimated the tariffs on imported vehicles would cost it 450 billion yen ($3 billion) this year without mitigation measures.

The company said it would boost US production capacity and prioritize retail sales of models assembled locally. Nissan also said it would shift some models affected by tariffs to other markets, in line with customer demand.

Nissan is not the only Japanese automaker that is bracing for the impact of Trump's tariffs.

On Tuesday, Honda said the levies would cost it an estimated $3 billion and cut its operating profit forecast for the coming financial year by nearly 60%.

The company is also taking measures to ease the impact of the tariffs, including moving production of its Civic hybrid from Japan to the US.

Nissan and Honda did not respond to requests for comment, sent outside working hours.

• Uber is teaming up with Chinese firm WeRide to bring its robotaxis to 15 new cities.
• CEO Tony Han told BI the deal would help WeRide scale and solve the very hardest robotaxi problems.
• Don't expect to see WeRide's robotaxis in the US, however; Han said the company is focusing on Europe and the Middle East.

Chinese firm WeRide is the latest piece of Uber's robotaxi puzzle.

The two companies announced last week that WeRide's driverless taxis would be coming to the Uber app in 15 cities outside the US and China over the next five years. It did not reveal the list of cities.

The deal is the latest in a series that Uber has struck with self-driving companies, and WeRide's CEO told Business Insider that the expanded partnership would supercharge the development of WeRide's autonomous vehicles.

"Uber's scale is very important. There are some long-tail problems, you have to have the scalability in order to find them," Tony Han told Business Insider.

For self-driving cars, "long-tail problems" refer to unusual scenarios that rarely show up in everyday driving, making them difficult to simulate.

Training robotaxis to deal with these 'edge case' situations can require massive vehicle fleets and thousands of miles of real-world driving.

It's a problem all robotaxi companies face — including Tesla's upcoming robotaxi service in Texas, with CEO Elon Musk telling investors last month the automaker's fleet was driving "all over Austin in circles" to identify edge cases before the June launch.

Han said operating its vehicles on the Uber app across multiple continents would give WeRide the chance to prove the safety of its technology, adding that the company has yet to record an accident in over 2,000 days of robotaxi operation.

"This will just convince people that taking WeRide's products and robotaxi service is safe. And our goal is to make robotaxi safer than a human driver," said Han.

Founded in 2017, WeRide has ridden China's robotaxi boom to a $4 billion valuation, and is one of the few Chinese autonomous vehicle companies to operate beyond its home market.

The Guangzhou-based firm tests and operates a range of autonomous vehicles — including robotaxis, robovans, and robo-road sweepers — across 10 countries.

WeRide's expanded partnership with Uber, which also saw the ride-hailing giant invest an extra $100 million in the Chinese self-driving company, comes after the two companies teamed up to launch a robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi last year, with Dubai set to follow soon.

Han told BI that the Abu Dhabi robotaxi service had been a success, with the company "aggressively recruiting" local operational staff, and said the expansion would take a "phased approach" with several cities being added in Europe and the Middle East over the next five years.

"The deal with Uber gives us another layer of confidence, because Uber has already rolled out their car-hailing service in all of these countries," said Han.

"This will actually reduce our efforts to a large extent. We only need to focus on autonomous driving technology and relevant regulations. We don't need to worry too much about the car-hailing service part, about the user acquisition part," he added.

Global robotaxi race heats up

Han has worked in the autonomous vehicle industry in China and the US.

Prior to founding WeRide in 2017, he was a professor of computer engineering at the University of Missouri and worked in Silicon Valley as Baidu's chief scientist. He told BI that both the US and China have a wealth of technical knowledge and robotaxi know-how.

However, he added that China's robotaxi industry has at least two advantages over its Pacific rival — the country's booming EV industry, which Han said drives innovation and keeps costs down, and its famously chaotic roads.

"In China, the number of complicated scenarios offers a very good testing environment, which enables robust algorithm development for WeRide," Han said.

WeRide is one of a handful of Chinese robotaxi firms with a permit to test its vehicles on public roads in California, but the company has no plans to begin commercial operations in the US anytime soon.

Earlier this year, the outgoing Biden administration finalized rules effectively banning Chinese vehicle software from the US, which also barred Chinese companies from testing robotaxis on US roads.

Asked about the new rules, Han said the company had no commercial operations in the US and was focused on markets in Europe, the Middle East, Singapore, and potentially Japan.

"We have already got our hands full. There are a lot of things we need to do in the Middle East and European market," he added.

China's self-driving boom hits a speed bump

China has seen an explosion in autonomous vehicle technology in recent years, with EV giants like BYD offering driver assist tech in nearly all their vehicles for free.

A recent survey by consulting firm AlixPartners found that more than half of the cars sold in China last year were equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which operate some vehicle functions but require driver supervision, compared to less than 40% in the US.

The robotaxi boom has hit a speed bump in recent months, however, with authorities issuing a sweeping overhaul of regulations after a fatal crash involving a Xiaomi EV in March.

Unlike BYD and Xiaomi, WeRide operates fully autonomous robotaxis. The company also has a deal with German firm Bosch to use its technology in driver assistance systems for passenger cars in China.

Han said that both robotaxis and ADAS-equipped vehicles needed to go through "a very thorough process" to ensure they were safe to operate.

"No matter if you are driving a private car or you are sitting in a robotaxi, we want human transportation to be much more reliable and much safer. So I think safety is always the priority," he said.

• Tesla's rough start to the year has fuelled speculation over Elon Musk's future at the EV giant.
• Reports circulated that Musk could be replaced as CEO, though they were quickly quashed by Tesla.
• Analysts and investors told BI that Musk would be nearly impossible to replace, but one name stuck out.

Tesla has had a difficult start to the year, leaving some questioning whether Elon Musk is the right person to lead the EV giant.

In early May, The Wall Street Journal reported that members of Tesla's board had reached out to recruitment firms to begin the search for a new CEO.

The news came as the automaker faces a stock price slump and collapsing sales around the globe. Last month, Musk said he would step back from his role at DOGE, which has sparked a global wave of protests against the brand, to spend more time at Tesla.

Tesla's chair, Robyn Denholm, and Musk himself denied that the Journal's story was true, with Denholm saying that the board had total confidence in Musk's leadership.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

It's not the first time the question of who might succeed Musk, who is involved in multiple other companies, has come up.

During testimony in 2022 over the billionaire's disputed $55 billion pay package, Tesla board member James Murdoch said that Musk had identified a potential successor as CEO, although he did not say who it was.

Although Musk is unlikely to leave anytime soon, Tesla analysts and investors told Business Insider that he would be nearly impossible to replace, and the list of potential replacements is not long.

"He's a fabric that holds Tesla together and moves it forward. He's one of those people who can't be replaced," said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management and a Tesla investor.

Munster said he was skeptical that Musk would ever entirely divorce himself from Tesla, which he has run since 2008, but estimated the stock could decline 25% or more if Musk departed.

Bradley Tusk, a venture capitalist and political strategist, told BI that Musk was the main reason Tesla's valuation was so much higher than other carmakers, making him "exceptionally important" to the company.

"Tesla's market cap, even after the decline, is still more than the next nine biggest automakers combined. And yet their sales are not even in the top 15," said Tusk.

"The only reason why Tesla has that is because of this faith in Elon, both from institutional and retail investors. Without him, they're just another car company," he said.

Who could step up?

Replacing the irreplaceable is a tall order — but Munster said any successor to Musk would likely come from within Tesla's own ranks, and take the top job with the billionaire's blessing.

"Culturally, it's hard for them to bring somebody over. Their whole DNA is about disrupting the standard," said Munster.

Seth Goldstein, an analyst at Morningstar, said prime candidates from within Tesla might include senior vice president of automotive, Tom Zhu, who played a key role in building the company's Chinese business, and CFO Vaibhav Taneja.

Another possible pick for the top job is Omead Afshar, Musk's former chief of staff.

The former biomedical engineering student and ski instructor is one of Musk's most loyal lieutenants and was picked to oversee construction of Tesla's Austin gigafactory, with former employees previously telling BI that Afshar acts as a "final boss" for anyone wanting to reach Musk.

Goldstein said that the lean, flat nature of Tesla's management structure allowed the division heads a lot of autonomy, meaning several of them could likely step up to run the automaker.

"What you see is that the division executives and the leaders have a lot of decision-making power to run things. It's almost like a good leadership training ground," he told BI.

Hard act to follow

The list of potential internal replacements at Tesla has become shorter in recent years, with the company seeing an exodus of top executives.

Veterans such as one-time CFO Zach Kirkhorn and energy chief Drew Baglino have all left the company, and battery director Vineet Mehta announced in early May that he would exit Tesla after 18 years.

Munster said that if Tesla were to look externally, the most likely candidate would be JB Straubel, the CEO of Redwood Materials and a current Tesla board member.

Straubel co-founded Tesla in 2004 and was the automaker's CTO until 2019, when he left to run battery recycling startup Redwood full-time.

"I could see that being a big win on the level that he knows Tesla. He's also probably the person who has the best working relationship with Elon," said Munster, whose firm Deepwater is an investor in Redwood.

"Elon and JB have something that's pretty special. And I think it's unique in Elon's orbit, the mutual respect that they have for each other," he added.

Tesla investor Ross Gerber, who has previously called for Musk to step down as CEO, also agrees that Straubel is the most likely option to fill the billionaire's shoes.

"He's the most suited to me. He's a cofounder, an investor, he runs a successful company, and if Tesla bought Redwood it would make sense for Tesla, and then he could come in and be CEO. That's the scenario that I think would be best for everybody," Gerber said in an interview with Bloomberg.

With a 13% stake in the company and a board packed with allies — including his brother Kimbal — the level of control Musk exerts over Tesla means any change in leadership would have to happen with his approval.

Munster said it was possible that Musk might eventually settle on a management structure that mirrors that of his other companies. X and SpaceX both have full-time CEOs who run day-to-day operations.

"I think from a future of Tesla perspective, a combination where JB is the CEO and Elon is the 'chief technoking' would be a big win," he said.

Goldstein said that a shake-up of Tesla's C-suite would be unlikely to change the day-to-day running of the company, but added that Tesla might take fewer big swings if Musk became less involved in running the automaker.

"I would question if Tesla would continue to take on initiatives as bold as they have. We may not see that level of bold decision-making if Musk stepped back," he said.

• Wayne Dopson runs a renovation business in Brisbane, Australia, and bought a BYD Shark hybrid pickup in March.
• He said it's great to drive compared with his old gas truck, but fears it may be obsolete in a few years.
• Chinese EV makers are expanding rapidly in tariff-free Australia, putting Tesla under pressure.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Wayne Dopson, a project manager in Brisbane, Australia about owning a BYD Shark hybrid pickup truck. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've always been in the property market, flipping houses and doing renovations. I have a small renovation business, working on kitchens, bathrooms, and decks for clients in Brisbane, which I've been doing for about 12 years now.

I bought a VW Amarok diesel-powered pickup in 2015. I wanted to upgrade for a while, but nothing came along that took my interest.

Other combustion-engine trucks like the Ford Ranger were all very similar to the Amarok. I would have been getting pretty much the same car with just a bigger screen, so I waited for something a little bit different.

I bought the BYD Shark hybrid pickup in March for 64,000 Australian dollars, around $41,000.

Ford and Toyota are charging ridiculous prices for their pickup trucks, or utes in Australia. You're looking at up to 80,000 dollars for something that is, to me, inferior to what BYD is charging 60,000 for.

I've only done 2,000 kilometers in the Shark so I'm still learning the car, but so far I love driving it.

The technology, the power, and the smoothness — it feels decades ahead of the Amarok.

Luxury and power on the cheap

The level of luxury inside is incredible for the money. I've owned Audis and BMWs and it feels just as good, just as solid and well-built as a premium car. It also does 0 to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds, so it drives like a sports car.

I use it mainly for work as well as leisure, and there are a couple of advantages to using it for work.

It costs me just cents to run it each day. I've got 30 solar panels on my roof, so my electricity during the day is free.

I pay eight cents per kilowatt hour from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., which is enough time to charge the car — it takes between three to four hours to charge.

If I set the car to charge at midnight, it's done by about 4 a.m., and it generally costs less than two Australian dollars, or $1.03. I'd be using 13 or 14 dollars ($8-9) worth of diesel a day in the VW Amarok, so comparatively it's very cheap to run.

The other advantage is you've got power outlets in the back of the truck that provide about six kilowatts of power, which you can use on-site to power tools.

It's got a really big tray with a couple of little tricks up its sleeve. You can open your tailgate with a quick press of the key, which is handy if you're walking up with your hands full.

Range is not a problem

The Shark is what they call an EREV, or extended range electric vehicle. It's got two electric motors, at the front and rear, and it also has a 1.5-liter petrol turbo engine that acts as a generator.

The petrol engine means range anxiety isn't really a thing for me.

Generally, I do less than 100 kilometers a day, which will be done in electric mode, but if I do want to go to the beach or further down the coast, I've got the petrol engine right there.

That just kicks in and charges the battery and I'm good to go for around 800 kilometers.

The only thing that would worry me down the line is the resale value. I've already seen that new vehicles are coming out from Nissan, Ford, and Great Wall.

The technology is advancing like crazy at the moment, so my Shark could be fairly obsolete in five years.

It's got a six-year warranty, and I'm planning to keep it for the warranty period. What's it going to be worth at the end is anyone's guess.

BYD puts down roots in Australia

I think having more Chinese EV brands in Australia is great. We're getting longer warranty periods and better quality cars.

Utes are a very important part of Australian culture. One of the issues the BYD Shark will face is that it doesn't have the same off-roading credentials as a vehicle with a diff lock — an axle mechanism that you need to crawl over rocks and rough terrain.

It's fine on the sand and in the mud, but when it comes to really serious off-roading, where you are crawling up huge hills with ruts and boulders, it's going to struggle.

For me, though, the Shark is great. It's a pleasure to drive, and it's nice being able to drive around knowing it's not costing me and not costing the planet either.

• Tesla canceled its range extender — and it's one of many Cybertruck promises the company hasn't delivered.
• The EV truck is also more expensive, with the cheapest version of the Cybertruck starting at $69,990.
• Other features that didn't make it into the final vehicle include crab walking and floating.

The Cybertruck has changed a lot since Elon Musk first unveiled it in 2019.

Tesla's first pickup, which finally launched in November 2023, has had a rocky rollout, with multiple recalls and early challenges in scaling up production.

The Cybertrucks for sale right now have less range and a far higher price tag than Musk initially predicted, with the cheapest model available costing nearly $70,000, compared to the $39,900 that Musk promised.

Here are some of the Cybertruck features that Musk has talked about over the years that failed to materialize.

1. A $39,900 price tag

When Musk first unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, he said the cheapest version would cost $39,900, with more advanced variants costing $49,900 and $77,000.

But that didn't work out. In 2023, Tesla shipped a $120,000 Foundation Series version of the Cybertruck and said its cheapest model would actually cost $60,990 and would arrive in 2025. Tesla recently released its Long Range version of the Cybertruck, which has a $69,990 price tag. The Cyberbeast, its most expensive version, cost around $100,000.

The price hike disappointed many Tesla fans, and made the Cybertruck something of a status car when it first arrived. Now that the market has become more saturated and the truck has been targeted by political backlash, some consider the EV overpriced.

2. 500-mile range

Musk also said in 2019 that the most advanced tri-motor version of the Cybertruck would have a 500-mile range.

That would have made it one of the longest-range EVs on the market, but it was a promise Tesla didn't deliver on.

The automaker advertises the $69,990 Long Range Cybertruck as having an estimated 350 miles of range, with the roughly $100,000 "Cyberbeast" clocking in at 301 miles.

Tesla previously had plans to offer a $16,000 "range extender." The battery pack would sit in the truck bed of the vehicle and increase the vehicle's range to over 470 miles. In October, Tesla reduced the range to 445 miles and delayed it from early to mid-2025.

In early May, Tesla canceled the product and refunded pre-orders.

3. Cyberquad

Musk ended the 2019 Cybertruck event with a surprise unveiling of the "Cyberquad," a Tesla quad bike.

The billionaire wrote at the time on X that the Cyberquad would be a two-seater ATV that would be released at the same time as the truck.

Tesla did release a $1,900 kids version of the Cyberquad, which now costs $1,650 and previously faced a recall, but the full-size quad bike is yet to materialize.

4. The Cybertruck functioning as a boat

One of the most eye-catching promises Musk made about the Cybertruck is that it would be able to float and serve as a boat for short periods.

The Tesla CEO wrote on X that the pickup would be waterproof enough to "cross rivers, lakes, & even seas that aren't too choppy."

Although the Cybertruck has a "wade mode" that allows drivers to drive through 30 inches of water for a limited time, it's far from sea-worthy.

Musk appears to have not given up on this feature, however, posting on X last December that Tesla would release another upgrade that would allow the Cybertruck to "traverse at least 100m of water as a boat."

He reiterated its potential in April when responding to a video on X of a Cybertruck driving in a lake.

5. Crab walking

In 2021, Musk wrote on X that the initial production run of Cybertrucks would have four motors, one for each wheel, allowing it to turn 360 degrees like a tank and move diagonally like a crab.

But this feature never made it off the Tesla drawing board. Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill said in April that Tesla experimented with the feature but couldn't find a practical use for it.

"We played with this in development, but no matter what we tried, it was a clunky/awkward experience with no real use case," he wrote in a post on X.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside normal working hours.

• Uber's CEO said the Waymo robotaxis on its app in Austin are already busier than Uber's human drivers.
• Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber will grow its self-driving fleet after the deal with Waymo "exceeded expectations."
• The ride-hailing giant has struck deals with over a dozen robotaxi firms to offer self-driving cars.

Uber passengers in Austin seemingly can't get enough of Waymo's robotaxis, with the 100 or so Waymo vehicles operating on the Uber app already busier than the human drivers they share the road with.

"These approximately 100 vehicles are now busier than over 99% of all drivers in Austin in terms of completed trips per day," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks after Uber announced its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Khosrowshahi said the two companies plan to scale their autonomous fleet in Austin to "hundreds" of Waymos in the coming months, ahead of the launch of Waymo's robotaxis on the Uber app in Atlanta later this year.

Thanks to its hands-off regulations, Austin has become a hotspot for autonomous vehicles. In March, Uber began offering Waymo vehicles exclusively on its app for the first time in the city.

The two companies will soon face competition from Tesla, which is due to launch its own robotaxi service in Austin in June.

Uber drivers in Austin previously told Business Insider they were concerned about the long-term impact of Waymo's arrival, while others in LA and Phoenix have said competition from the driverless taxis is already hurting earnings.

Uber has abandoned plans to build its own robotaxis in recent years in favor of partnering with a host of self-driving car companies.

The ride-hailer has struck deals with 18 autonomous vehicle companies to offer their vehicles on the Uber app, including Volkswagen and Waymo in the US and Chinese firms WeRide and Pony.AI in Europe and the Middle East.

In comments after Uber released its first quarter earnings, Khosrowshahi said self-driving cars were the "single greatest opportunity ahead for Uber," adding the company was "laser-focused" on adding as many robotaxis to its platform as possible.

Uber's earnings on Wednesday missed Wall Street's expectations for revenue. It reported $42.8 billion in revenue for the quarter, below the consensus forecast of $43.1 billion.

Rideshare booking growth also slowed, with the company's stock falling almost 5% in premarket trade on the back of the results.

• Carmakers are scrambling to move production to the US as Trump's tariffs disrupt the auto industry.
• Lucid's CEO said several companies had reached out about using its Arizona factory.
• Like rivals Tesla and Rivian, Lucid is less exposed to the tariffs as all its production is in the US.

President Donald Trump's tariffs are causing carnage in the car industry — but they could provide a boost for one Tesla rival.

Lucid CEO Marc Winterhoff said several carmakers had contacted the EV startup about using its Arizona factory to circumvent the tariffs on imported vehicles.

"We've seen interest in our manufacturing capability in Arizona. As carmakers look for more capital-efficient strategies to make vehicles in the US, we've seen several inbound inquiries to discuss possible cooperation," he told investors on an earnings call on Tuesday.

"It's still early and talks are preliminary, but the President and the administration want to have a strong manufacturing sector in the US, and we are looking at potential ways we can leverage our assets," said Winterhoff, who took over as interim CEO of Lucid in February.

The Trump administration's 25% tariffs on imported cars and auto parts have sparked a scramble for carmakers to move as much production to the US as possible.

Stellantis, Volvo, and Mercedes have all unveiled plans to build more models in the US to get around the tariffs. General Motors, which is facing a $5 billion hit from the levies, said it would offset some costs by building more cars and components in the US.

EV firms such as Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid are less exposed to the tariffs because they build all their cars for the US market locally. Lucid has spare capacity after buying the manufacturing facilities of bankrupt electric truck startup Nikola last month.

"We have had several players reaching out to us, exploring joint manufacturing in the US, given that we now have additional assets that we can leverage," said Winteroff.

Lucid reported first-quarter earnings below analyst expectations on Tuesday, but maintained its target of producing 20,000 vehicles this year despite the tariff uncertainty.

Separately on Tuesday, Rivian announced first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations.

The EV startup cut its deliveries guidance and warned it was "not immune" from the impact of the tariffs, with CFO Claire McDonough telling investors the levies were expected to add "a couple thousand dollars" of extra costs to every vehicle produced this year.

• Tesla was lapped by Chinese rivals in the UK last month.
• Chinese brand Jaecoo sold nearly twice as many cars as Tesla as the EV giant's sales collapsed.
• Tesla is under pressure in Europe amid global protests over Elon Musk's politics and strong EV competition.

Tesla is having a nightmare in Europe — and now it's been overtaken by two Chinese rivals in the UK.

The EV giant sold just 512 cars in Britain last month, down from more than 1,300 in April 2024 as the backlash against Elon Musk continues to hit sales in Europe.

Telsa's tally is well behind arch rival BYD, which sold 2,511 cars in the UK in April, or a 650% increase.

The disastrous performance meant it was also left in the dust by lesser-known Chinese brands Jaecoo and Omoda.

They are both owned by Chinese conglomerate Chery and sold 1,053 and 910 vehicles respectively in April, according to data from the SMMT trade body, despite only launching in the UK last year.

Jaecoo and Omoda offer a mix of EVs, hybrids, and gas-powered cars in the UK, unlike Tesla, which only sells EVs.

However, getting lapped by two virtually unknown Chinese rivals is a sign of just how much trouble Tesla faces in Europe, its third-biggest market.

Tesla shares fell 2.7% in morning trading on Tuesday, bringing the decline since the start of the year to 28%.

The automaker is facing collapsing sales across the continent, with customers abandoning the company amid a backlash over CEO Musk's politics.

The billionaire's endorsement of the far-right German party AfD and position in the Trump administration has sparked protests in several European cities, with Tesla vehicles and showrooms also being hit by vandalism and suspected arson.

Tesla also faces renewed EV competition from legacy brands such as Volkswagen and Chinese automakers, which are expanding aggressively in Europe despite tariffs imposed by the European Union last year.

Tesla's European brand crisis shows little sign of abating.

Car registration figures in several European countries showed Tesla suffering double-digit declines in April. That means the launch of an updated version of the Model Y, Tesla's best-selling car, failed to halt the sales decline.

In the UK, Tesla has started offering up to two years of free supercharging for some Model Y models as it looks to arrest the slide.

• Tesla chair Robyn Denholm has denied that the company's board considered replacing Elon Musk as CEO.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that board members began searching for a replacement last month.
• Tesla's sales and stock have slumped in 2025, and showrooms have been vandalized.

Tesla's board chair has denied that the company ever considered replacing Elon Musk as CEO amid a stock price slump and global brand crisis sparked by his work at DOGE.

Robyn Denholm said on Wednesday that the board had high confidence in the billionaire's leadership, after The Wall Street Journal reported that board members had searched for a new CEO.

The Journal reported that as Tesla's stock price plunged in March and April amid collapsing sales and public blowback over Musk's work at DOGE, unnamed Tesla board members reached out to recruitment firms to work on a process to select Tesla's next CEO.

Board members had also told Musk he needed to spend more time at Tesla and reaffirm his commitment to the company publicly, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.

In Tesla's first quarter earnings last week, Musk announced he would step back from his White House role in May and allocate more time to leading Tesla, with the company's stock price surging in response.

"Now, we're getting more of a rhythm, and so the amount of time that it's necessary for me to spend here is much less, and I can return to primarily running my companies — which they need me," Musk said in an interview with reporters in the White House on Wednesday evening, before the Journal's story was published.

In a post on Tesla's X account on Wednesday, chairwoman Robyn Denholm called the Journal's report "absolutely false."

"The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead," said Denholm. Musk also denied the article in a post on X.

It comes amid a rocky start to the year for Tesla.

The automaker has been hit by a global wave of protests over Musk's role in cutting the federal workforce, which has also turned its vehicles into targets for vandalism and pushed some owners to sell up.

The brand crisis has fuelled a sales collapse, with Tesla reporting its lowest quarterly sales since 2022 last month.

The company is also facing growing competition in the EV space, especially from China, with the Warren Buffett-backed BYD besting Tesla in sales and revenue so far this year.

Tesla's stock price, which surged after the US election, has plunged around 30% since the start of the year, causing investors to ring the alarm about how much attention Musk is paying to Tesla.

In a Wednesday note, Wedbush Securities analyst and Tesla bull Dan Ives said Musk did the right thing in stepping back from his DOGE role and that Musk would likely stay on as CEO for at least another five years.

"This situation with Musk at DOGE was reaching a breaking point, but we believe that cooler heads have now prevailed," said Ives, describing the reported search for possible replacements as a "game of high-stakes poker" between Tesla's board and Musk.

Musk and Tesla did not respond to a request for comment sent outside normal working hours.

• Aston Martin is the latest carmaker to be hit by the wave of disruption caused by Trump's car tariffs.
• The luxury British carmaker said it was limiting imports to the US due to the tariffs.
• Aston Martin also warned it may have to pass on some of the tariff cost to buyers of its $250,000-plus supercars.

Aston Martin is limiting imports of its luxury vehicles to the US as the car industry grapples with disruption caused by Trump's tariffs.

The company said the tariffs had created a "high degree of uncertainty," with executives saying Aston Martin will likely have to pass on some of the impact to buyers of its $250,000-plus supercars and SUVs.

"We are carefully monitoring the evolving US tariff situation and are currently limiting imports to the US while leveraging the stock held by our US dealers," wrote CEO Adrian Hallmark in the company's first quarter earnings report.

In a call with reporters and analysts, Aston Martin executives said the company had enough stock at its US dealers to last through to early June.

After that, Hallmark said Aston Martin was looking at a number of ways it could offset the impact of the 25% tariff on imported cars, including price changes.

He added that Aston Martin had pricing scenarios "on standby." He said the company would not pass on the full impact of the tariffs to customers but would not absorb it entirely either, describing it as a "mixed" approach.

The auto industry is facing a wave of uncertainty fuelled by the tariffs introduced on imported vehicles and car parts by the Trump administration in April.

Stellantis and Mercedes became the latest companies to withdraw their full-year guidance due to tariff uncertainty on Wednesday, while Volkswagen warned the brewing trade war could hit sales this year.

The uncertainty is magnified for luxury car manufacturers, many of which have no factories in the US where they can shift production.

British automaker Jaguar Land Rover paused shipments to the US this month, while German brand Audi reportedly began holding its cars at US ports earlier in April.

Analysts previously told Business Insider that luxury carmakers were more likely to hike prices in the US in response to the tariffs, as their high-end customers are generally more willing to accept price rises.

Ferrari announced last month it would raise sticker prices by as much as 10%, adding tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of many of its supercars.

Aston Martin sells several ultra-luxury SUVs and supercars in the US, ranging from the $250,000 Vantage coupe to the $523,000 Vanquish.

• Satellite imagery shows how BYD's massive new car plant in Hungary is taking shape.
• After crushing Tesla in China, the EV giant aims to take advantage of Elon Musk's woes in Europe.
• The $4.5 billion factory is expected to produce around 200,000 vehicles a year from late 2025.

BYD is building a massive factory in Hungary as it looks to overtake Elon Musk's Tesla in Europe.

The 300-hectare site on the outskirts of Szeged, Hungary, is expected to have a maximum capacity of around 200,000 vehicles a year, and satellite images provided to BI by Planet Images show how the factory is rapidly taking shape.

Construction of the site began last year, with a Hungarian official confirming last November that the first BYD EV is expected to roll off the line in the second half of 2025.

The estimated €4 billion ($4.5 billion) investment is the latest step in BYD's quest for European domination.

Having conquered China's brutally competitive electric vehicle market, the Chinese EV giant is eyeing overseas expansion, exporting a record number of electric vehicles and hybrids in the first quarter of 2025.

BYD is barred from the US market thanks to high tariffs and faces a 17% import tax in Europe, leading the company to invest in local factories such as the one in Hungary.

The Chinese automaker is also set to break ground on a factory in Turkey in the coming years, and executives at the Warren Buffett-backed automaker have said that plans for a third European factory are under consideration.

That poses a huge threat to Tesla, which has a gigafactory in Germany and counts Europe as its third-biggest market.

Elon Musk's carmaker sold 327,000 vehicles in Europe last year but has seen sales collapse in 2025 amid intense backlash over Musk's interventions in European politics and support for the German far-right AfD party.

Tesla's sales in Europe have fallen 37% in the first three months of the year, while BYD's have surged by nearly 300%.

Hungary has proven to be a welcoming environment for Chinese companies looking to put down roots in Europe.

Battery giant CATL, which is the world's largest manufacturer of EV batteries, is also building a $7.6 billion factory in the country as it seeks to tighten its grip on the continent's battery industry.

The presence of Chinese companies has sparked tensions with the European Union, which counts Hungary as a member.

Last month, The Financial Times reported that the EU was investigating whether BYD's Hungarian plant had received unfair subsidies from the Chinese government.

• European luxury carmakers Porsche and Volvo both issued fresh tariff warnings on Tuesday.
• The two companies reported collapsing profits as US auto tariffs batter the industry.
• A Porsche executive warned prices would "definitely" rise if Trump didn't back down.

Trump's tariffs are battering the car industry, and buyers of luxury European motors are about to feel the pain.

European luxury brands Porsche and Volvo issued new tariff warnings on Tuesday as they reported collapsing profits, with Porsche's CFO saying the company would "definitely" hike prices if the Trump administration did not back down.

"If negotiations do not turn out to be successful, and the tariff regime stays as we see it today, we will definitely increase prices in the US," said Porsche's CFO, Jochen Breckner, in an earnings call.

The German luxury brand, which said it has not yet adjusted prices in the US, is more exposed to the tariffs than many of its rivals, as it imports all the cars that it sells in the country.

Porsche cut its return on sales guidance for the second time in two months on Tuesday and said that profits had collapsed 40% in the first quarter.

The company has seen sales fall in Europe and China, but said that US deliveries had risen 42% in the first three months of the year.

Swedish rival Volvo Cars, which sells the $80,000 EX90 among other models in the US, also signalled that it would look to pass some of the cost of the tariffs onto consumers.

"For the US, we are taking commercial measures linked to pricing and what cars we sell," Volvo CFO Fredrik Hansson told analysts in an earnings call on Tuesday, adding that the company continued to monitor the market on "basically a daily basis."

Volvo Cars reported a 59% drop in operating profit in the first quarter of 2025 and withheld guidance for this year and 2026, and Hansson warned that "commercial measures" would likely not be enough to steady the ship.

The company said it would enact a $1.9 billion cost-cutting plan that would involve an unspecified number of layoffs. Volvo's shares were down over 9% on Tuesday, while Porsche's also slumped 6%.

The warnings from European firms come as the Trump administration hinted that tariff relief could be imminent for automakers.

A White House spokesperson told multiple outlets that while the 25% tariffs on imported vehicles would remain in place, automakers would be exempted from additional tariffs, such as those on imported steel and aluminum, and would be reimbursed for some of the cost of tariffs on imported car parts.

The coming U-turn will come as a relief for carmakers like Ford and GM, which faced having their profits wiped out as a result of the levies, but it is unlikely to prevent carmakers from hiking their prices as they look to absorb the cost of the tariffs.

Automakers and analysts have warned that the 25% import tax will lead to major price hikes. Anderson Economic Group previously estimated that new car prices will rise between $4,000 and $12,000, depending on the vehicle.