Elon Musk calls Swedish unions ‘insane’ for hurting Tesla

The world’s wealthiest man constructed Tesla into the business’s dominant automaker regardless of what he believes has been fierce opposition from all three. But it’s his steadfast refusal to play ball with commerce unions that’s his largest headache of late. 

Solely weeks after labor chief Shawn Fain threatened to boost working situations at Tesla with the assistance of his United Auto Employees, Sweden’s personal industrial union IF Metall is bringing the corporate’s operations to an entire standstill within the Scandinavian nation. 

It’s the primary time that Tesla’s operations have been hit by a strike.  

“That is insane,” the entrepreneur grumbled.

Sweden is a significant vacation spot for Tesla automobiles, vying with the Netherlands because the fourth-largest marketplace for electrical automobiles within the European Union after Germany and France. Greater than 90,000 EVs have been bought by means of October, in line with the business’s personal knowledge. 

That is insane

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2023

Extra importantly, Sweden punches manner above its weight with regards to EV adoption, the place it’s at present the undisputed EU chief.

Almost 39% of all new automobiles bought within the Scandinavian nation are totally electrical, triple the general adoption charge within the EU by means of the primary ten months. It’s by far the most well-liked powertrain alternative amongst Swedes, with typical gasoline-only automobiles solely amounting to 52,000 in the course of the first ten months.

Custom of collective bargaining

Despite the fact that Stockholm enjoys a better per capita variety of tech startups valued at $1 billion-plus in Stockholm than virtually anyplace else on the planet, the nation nonetheless has an extended custom of collective wage bargaining. 

Consequently, when Tesla refused to conform to a wage cope with 120 mechanics at seven totally different workshops, IF Metall declared a strike in late October.

This has since spiraled uncontrolled as extra unions have since joined in, together with dockworkers that now refuse to unload imported Tesla automobiles arriving in ports and even employees from the state-owned postal service accountable for delivering license plates.

Within the quick time period, Musk can ill-afford gross sales in a key market to dry up. Buyers have gotten more and more anxious that his firm can’t keep the breakneck velocity of progress, to which they’ve lengthy change into accustomed. 

Alternatively, giving in may have long-term implications as he has to date refused to play ball with unions.

Any compromise in Sweden would doubtless solely embolden labor leaders within the U.S. and Germany to extend the strain.

Responding to Musk’s frustration, Swedish parliamentarian Annika Strandhäll corrected the centibillionaire.

“That is the Swedish labor market mannequin agreed on since virtually 100 years between employers and workers,” she wrote. “In Sweden all severe corporations signal collective agreements.”