Read the full memo Elon Musk sent Tesla employees below:
Over the years, we have grown rapidly with multiple factories scaling around the globe. With this rapid growth there has been duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas. As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity.
As part of this effort, we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10% globally. There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done. This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle.
I would like to thank everyone who is departing Tesla for their hard work over the years. I'm deeply grateful for your many contributions to our mission and we wish you well in your future opportunities. It is very difficult to say goodbye.
For those remaining, I would like to thank you in advance for the difficult job that remains ahead. We are developing some of the most revolutionary technologies in auto, energy and artificial intelligence. As we prepare the company for the next phase of growth, your resolve will make a huge difference in getting us there.
Thanks,
Elon
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China’s economy expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in the first three months of the year, helped by policies aimed at stimulating growth and stronger demand, the government said Tuesday.
The world’s second-largest economy expanded at a 5.3% annual pace in January-March, beating analysts’ forecasts of about 4.8%, official data show. Compared to the previous quarter, the economy grew 1.6%.
China’s economy has struggled to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a slowdown in demand and a property crisis weighing on its growth.
The better-than-expected data Tuesday came days after China reported its exports sank 7.5% in March compared to the year before, while imports also weakened. Inflation cooled, reflecting deflationary pressures resulting from slack demand amid a crisis in the property sector.
Industrial output for the first quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same time last year, and retail sales grew at an annual pace of 4.7%. Fixed investment, in factories and equipment, grew 4.5% compared to the same period a year earlier.
The strong growth in January-March was supported by “broad manufacturing outperformance,” festivities-boosted household spending due to the Lunar New Year holidays and policies that helped boost investments, according to China economist Louise Loo of Oxford Economics.
“However, ‘standalone’ March activity indicators suggest weakness coming through post-Lunar New Year,” she said. “External demand conditions also remain unpredictable, as seen in March’s sharp export underperformance.”
Loo noted that an unwinding of excess inventory, normalization of household spending after the holidays, and a cautious approach to government spending and other stimulus will affect growth in this quarter.
Policymakers have unveiled a raft of fiscal and monetary policy measures as Beijing seeks to boost the economy. China has set an ambitious gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of about 5% for 2024.
Such strong growth usually would push share prices across the region higher. But on Tuesday, Asian shares fell sharply after stocks retreated on Wall Street.
The Shanghai Composite index lost 1.4% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.9%. The benchmark for the smaller market in Shenzhen, in southern China, lost 2.8%.
Stronger growth in the region’s biggest economy normally would be seen as a positive for its neighbors, which increasingly rely on demand from China to power their own economies. However, strong growth figures are also viewed as a signal that the government will hold back on further stimulus.
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Stung by paying billions of dollars for settlements and trials, chemical giant Bayer has been lobbying lawmakers in three states to pass bills providing it a legal shield from lawsuits that claim its popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.
Nearly identical bills introduced in Iowa, Missouri, and Idaho this year — with wording supplied by Bayer — would protect pesticide companies from claims they failed to warn that their product causes cancer if their labels otherwise complied with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations.
But legal experts warn the legislation could have broader consequences — extending to any product liability claim or, in Iowa’s case, providing immunity from lawsuits of any kind. Critics say it could spread nationwide.
“It’s just not good government to give a company immunity for things that they’re not telling their consumers,” said Matt Clement, a Jefferson City, Missouri, attorney who represents people suing Bayer. “If they’re successful in getting this passed in Missouri, I think they’ll be trying to do this all over the country.”
Bayer described the legislation as one strategy to address the “headwinds” it faces. About 167,000 legal claims against Bayer assert Roundup causes a cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which Bayer disputes. The company has won some cases, and settled many others but also has suffered several losses in which juries awarded huge initial judgments. It has paid about $10 billion while thousands of claims linger in court.
Though some studies associate Roundup’s key ingredient with cancer, the EPA has regularly concluded it is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.
The costs of “defending a safe, approved product” are unsustainable, said Jess Christiansen, head of communications for Bayer’s crop science division.
The legislation was introduced in targeted states pivotal to Bayer’s Roundup operations and is at a different stage in each. It passed the Iowa Senate, is awaiting debate in the Missouri House, and was defeated in Idaho, where this year’s legislative session ended.
Farmers overwhelmingly rely on Roundup, which was introduced 50 years ago as a more efficient way to control weeds and reduce tilling and soil erosion. For crops like corn, soybeans, and cotton, it’s designed to work with genetically modified seeds that resist Roundup’s deadly effect.
Missouri state Rep. Dane Diehl, a farmer who worked with Bayer to sponsor the legislation, cited concerns that costly lawsuits could force Bayer to pull Roundup from the U.S. market, leaving farmers to depend on alternative chemicals from China.
“This product, ultimately, is a tool that we need,” said Diehl, a Republican.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said in an email the legislation maintains the integrity of the regulatory process and, without it, “Iowa risks losing hundreds of jobs” in Muscatine, an eastern Iowa city where Roundup is mostly produced.
The Associated Press is seeking public records on Bayer’s communications with Reynolds’ office.
Bayer, like other companies, hires lobbyists in states to advocate for its interests. The company backs this legislation in the states where “we have a big, direct economic impact,” Christiansen said.
Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, is derived from phosphate mined in Idaho. St. Louis is the headquarters of its North American crop science division, acquired in its 2018 purchase of Monsanto. Because of that, many of the lawsuits are filed in Missouri.
The five lobbyists registered for Bayer in Iowa and three in Idaho is largely consistent with recent years, but the number working in Missouri this year ballooned from four to nine. Lobbyist expenditures exceeded $8,000 in Idaho this year; similar information was not available in Iowa or Missouri.
Led by Bayer, a coalition of agricultural organizations called Modern Ag Alliance also is spending tens of thousands of dollars on radio and print advertisements claiming that trial lawyers and litigation threaten the availability of glyphosate.
On its website, the group asserts that at risk are 500 jobs connected to glyphosate production in Iowa, and 800 jobs in Idaho.
Bayer stopped short of threatening closures. The Iowa facilities, including in Muscatine, “are very critical facilities to our business, so we’ll remain at some sort of support level,” Christiansen said.
At issue in the lawsuits and legislation is how Bayer – and any other pesticide company — communicates with consumers about the safety of its products.
Companies are required to register products with the EPA, which evaluates — and then reevaluates every 15 years — a pesticide and its label. The EPA reiterated in 2020 that glyphosate used as directed posed no health risks to humans. But a federal appeals court panel in 2022 ruled that the decision “was not supported by substantial evidence” and ordered the EPA to review further.
The debate over glyphosate escalated when a 2015 report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, said it’s “probably carcinogenic to humans” based on “limited” evidence of cancer in people and “sufficient” evidence in study animals.
Based on that international report, California sought to add a cancer warning label to products containing glyphosate. But a federal appeals court ruled against California last November, concluding such a warning wasn’t factual.
Christiansen emphasized that many regulatory agencies worldwide agree with the EPA and insisted Bayer has to stick to EPA labeling to ensure it isn’t providing false or misleading information. She added that the company is transparent in the information it does provide.
Critics of the legislation aren’t convinced, citing examples such as opioids and asbestos that had been deemed safe for use as directed — until they weren’t.
There also are concerns that the legislation could stifle any product liability claim since most rely on the argument that a company failed to warn, said Andrew Mertens, executive director of the Iowa Association for Justice, an organization for trial lawyers.
Jonathan Cardi, a product liability and torts expert at Wake Forest University School of Law, also said a strict reading of the Iowa legislation extends beyond liability claims, and “the way it’s drafted makes it interpretable to mean nobody could bring any suit.”
In lobbying lawmakers and in speaking with the AP, Bayer representatives disputed that the legislation would cut off other legal actions. Several legal experts said the legislation is unlikely to affect the 18,000 lawsuits already pending in Missouri’s capital of Jefferson City, and wouldn’t prevent similar claims in states that don’t adopt similar legislation.
In Idaho, the Republican-led Senate narrowly defeated the bill amid concerns about relying on federal agencies’ safety standards and limiting the ability of harmed individuals to sue.
John Gilbert, who farms in Iowa Falls, Iowa, with limited use of Roundup, called Republicans hypocritical for attempting to protect corporate interests after campaigning on standing up for Iowans.
The bill “invites a lot of reckless disregard,” said Gilbert, who is on the board for the Iowa Farmers Union. “No amount of perfume’s gonna make it anything but a skunk.”
Boeing is currently facing safety and quality concerns regarding its planes, particularly the 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets. These concerns are being brought to light ahead of a whistleblower hearing in the Senate, with Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour set to be the key witness.
## Recent Developments
To address these issues, Boeing held a briefing for journalists to proactively respond to the upcoming hearing. This move comes in the wake of reports that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating allegations made by Salehpour, claiming that Boeing took shortcuts in the manufacturing process of the 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets, which could increase the risk of catastrophic failure as the planes age.
## Previous Incidents
The company's reputation for safety and engineering quality has been tarnished in recent years, initially due to the two fatal crashes of the 737 Max in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in the grounding of that jet for 20 months. A more recent incident occurred when a door plug blew out on a 737 Max flight by Alaska Airlines, sparking further investigations and allegations regarding the safety of Boeing planes.
## Response and Actions
Boeing executives refrained from directly commenting on Salehpour's allegations during the briefing but emphasized that the number of employee tips about quality and safety issues has significantly increased since the Alaska Air incident. The company encourages these reports and claims that the volume of submissions in January and February of the current year has already matched that of the entire previous year.
## Stress Tests and Inspections
Boeing's vice president of engineering for Airplane Programs and chief engineer for mechanical and structural engineering highlighted that the 787 Dreamliner jets undergo stress tests designed to simulate far more flights than they will ever actually operate. These tests aim to ensure the planes can withstand significant stress over their operational lifespans. Real-world inspections of planes currently in service have revealed no evidence of fatigue, even after up to 16 years of use.
## Allegations and Standards
Salehpour's complaint centers on the alleged failure to properly fill tiny gaps when joining separately manufactured parts of the fuselage, which could result in premature wear and the risk of catastrophic failure. Boeing acknowledges that some planes did have wider gaps than their specified standards, leading to interruptions in 787 Dreamliner deliveries. However, subsequent inspections revealed no operational problems, and Boeing adjusted some of its gap standards in response.
While Boeing strives to address these safety and quality concerns, it remains evident that the company is actively responding to the issues raised by Salehpour and the wider scrutiny it is facing. The upcoming whistleblower hearing will likely shed further light on Boeing's efforts to ensure the safety and longevity of its commercial jets.