Hi, everybody. Welcome back to another episode
of the Elon Musk podcast. I'm your host, William Walden.
And in today's episode, we're going to cover two major
developments in the realm of Elon Musk's ventures.
First, we're going to talk about Tesla's upcoming giga factory in
Mexico and what that means for infrastructure both locally and
potentially globally. And we'll switch gears and talk
about Tesla's recruiting and the use of the X platform for that,
and also the challenges that Tesla faces when it comes to
growth and advertising. Tesla is in an early planning
stage for a new Gigafactory located in the state of Nuevo
Leon, Mexico, and the company is collaborating with a local
government to determine the necessary investments in
infrastructure to make this factory as successful as
possible. And according to Reuters, this
factory will produce Tesla's $25,000 car, as is expected to
significantly stimulate economic growth in that region.
For the factory to run smoothly, Tesla has requested several key
pieces of infrastructure in Mexico, including road and rail
networks and electric energy substations.
A Tesla's new factory will certainly be a monumental
addition to Mexico's industrial sector, not just as an asset for
producing cars. It's seen as a catalyst for
regional growth and development, and the government of Nuevo Lyon
has acknowledged the importance of building necessary
infrastructure like roads, schools, and health centers to
support this new venture. However, there's still much to
be done. For smooth operations, Tesla
needs an electric energy substation and electric lines to
be built where the plant will be constructed.
Additionally, a railway yard is requested to help in
transporting materials to the factory.
These needs present both challenges and opportunities for
local governments and companies in the area.
Now, just last month, tests to secure the environmental permits
necessary for beginning the initial construction phases.
This is a significant step, providing the company 26 months
to prepare the site and carry out construction activities.
The aim is to complete the plant by the end of 2025, a highly
anticipated milestone for Tesla in Mexico.
This isn't an isolated initiative for Tesla though.
The company has been exploring several locations worldwide,
including India and Thailand for additional factories.
But the Mexican factory is the most recent to receive official
confirmation and the stakes are very high.
With permits in hand and a deadline insight, the clock is
ticking to get everything in place.
The project has drawn considerable attention not only
for its economic prospects, but also for its ambitious timeline.
Securing the environmental impact permits was a significant
leap forward, but now comes the complex task of getting the
infrastructure bill a task that Tesla can't be done alone.
Now collaboration with the government and possibly other
private entities will be crucial and necessary for Tesla to move
forward with this. Now, this undertaking showcases
Tesla strategic focus on global expansion.
It also highlights the complexities involved in
developing the infrastructure required for such a large scale
project and the need for electric substations.
Electric lines and railway yards are not just logistical
requirements, but vital components for Tesla's long term
success in the region. Now switching gears a little
bit, let's talk about Tesla Recruiting's recent update on
the X platform. The company announced the job
roles can now be viewed through people's X's profile.
This development paves the way for companies to use similar
features to inform people about job openings they're looking to
fill. This new feature brings another
dimension to the X platform, which is increasingly becoming a
multi faceted social media site. Now users have favorably
compared this feature to LinkedIn.
Although the X platform aims to be a little bit above and beyond
being a mere employment focus, Platform feature updates aimed
to make it a comprehensive social media destination,
encompassing features like live streams and long form written
work. Now the potential of X as an
Everything app is massive, the Elon Musk even projecting that
the All in one social media platform could reach a market
cap of $1 trillion. And the evolution of X from what
we've seen so far shows a trend toward increasing user
engagement and providing a wide array of features that can make
it an indispensable part of people's digital lives.
One more item on the agenda today is Tesla's growth
strategy, or more specifically, the debate about whether Tesla
should spend on major media companies.
Gary Black, a fund manager and Tesla supporter, argues that
Tesla should reconsider its emphasis on price cuts as a
growth strategy. Online polls and social media
discussions indicate that many Tesla fans and investors share
this sentiment. The issue of Tesla's
advertising, or the lack thereof, was raised during the
last annual shareholder meeting. Elon Musk showed openness to the
idea, but so far Tesla's advertising spending has
remained minimal. Instead, price cuts have been
the primary strategy to boost sales and interest, much to the
frustration of shareholders like Gary Black who think it's not
working efficiently. Now Gary Black's point price
cuts are effectively a marketing expense brings a new perspective
to the discussion. With Tesla's U.S. market share
among EVs slipping and a significant reduction in gross
margins. Black and others argue that a
focused ad campaign might be a better use of resources.
And the absence of advertising has put Tesla in an interesting
contrast with competitors like Ford and General Motors who are
experienced marketers. The challenge for Tesla then,
lies on whether it will adjust its strategy to include
advertising, which could help the brand resonate with a
broader audience now. All right folks, that's it for
today's episode. We've covered a lot of ground,
from Tesla's Mexican Gigafactory and its infrastructure
requirements to the ever growing X platform in the ongoing debate
around Tesla's advertising strategy.
These topics illustrate the multifaceted challenges and
opportunities that lie ahead for Elon Musk and his ventures.
And thank you so much for listening to the show today.
Don't forget to hit the subscribe or the follow button
on whatever podcast latform you're listening on.
It's free, takes a second. And remember, each eisode is 10
minutes or less designed to quickly catch you U on all
things Elon O. Take care of yourselves and each
other, and I'll see you in the next one.