The auto industry was just as shocked by the coup as anyone

Yesterday was bad, Elon Musk could soon be the richest man in the world on paper and rhodium. All that and more in it The morning shift before January 7, 2021.

I would say yesterday was one of the dumbest days in American history, but everyone has already said that. Well, that’s too much credit for a bunch of nobodies, anyway. Keep calm and carry on, as they say.

1st gear: automatic people respond

GM CEO Mary Barra tweeted:

Ford CEO Jim Farley also tweeted:

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan (holding the UAW corruption scandal) also tweeted:

UAW President Rory Gamble made a statement:

The National Association of Manufacturers weighed in too, as everyone was waiting for what the National Association of Manufacturers had to say:

All of this will soon be a distant memory, and you get the feeling it would always end like this, with a cheap and pointless crime that temporarily slowed the adults in performing their duties. Four people are now reported death.

2nd gear: car sales are bad in Europe

The reason is the pandemic. Aside from a bunch of no one storming the Capitol, we still have the pandemic to worry about.

From Bloomberg:

According to industry associations and transport ministries, registrations fell by about 25% last year in Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain, the five largest countries where cars are bought. The Covid-19 resurgence prompted several governments to reintroduce lockdown measures that are likely to drag demand into early 2021.

German new car registrations are down about 20% in 2020, based on preliminary data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, which will release detailed figures on Friday. Figures released earlier this week showed sales fell 32% in Spain, 29% in the UK, 28% in Italy and 25% in France. The British auto industry trade group said the country’s decline was the worst since 1943.

The data shows that the coronavirus had a huge impact on the European auto industry last year compared to China and the US, where car buying was more resilient. The persistent weakness in demand poses a risk to the euro area economy, which was heavily dependent on manufacturing when it recovered in the second half of last year.

“We are in a deep crisis,” said Pierre-Louis Debar, head of statistics for the French auto industry group CCFA, in an interview. “It’s more comprehensive than anything we’ve seen in the past.”

3rd gear: Rhodium? Rhodium!

Rhodium is used in catalytic converters and many countries today are concerned about cleaning the air. That has increased the price of rhodium.

From The Financial Times:

Car companies in Europe and China are increasingly using rhodium to comply with stricter clean air regulations, while supplies from South Africa, the largest producer, were disrupted by the spread of Covid-19.

Supported by the economic recovery in China, the world’s largest car market, benchmark prices for rhodium have hit a record $ 17,790 an ounce, up more than 200 percent since their low in March 2020. That means a kilogram of rhodium is worth nearly half a million pounds.

“You have a huge battle for metal” by auto companies, said Nicholas Hops, co-manager of the Coronation Resources Fund. “If you don’t have enough rhodium, you can’t comply with emissions legislation and we know how draconian those fines are.”

4th gear: Elon Musk

Tesla’s value on paper is enormous, or more than $ 700 billion. Ford’s value, for context, is about $ 34 billion. On paper, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s worth is almost the richest person in the world.

From Bloomberg:

A 2.8% rise in the electric carmaker’s stock price brought Musk to less than $ 3 billion from Amazon.com Inc.’s founder on Wednesday. Jeff Bezos, who currently ranks # 1 in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the 500 richest people in the world.

The South African-born engineer’s net worth was $ 181.1 billion on Wednesday, just behind Bezos, who has ranked # 1 since October 2017. As CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, Musk is also a rival to Bezos. , owner of Blue Origin LLC, in the private space race.

The milestone closes an extraordinary 12 months for Musk. In the past year, its net worth has increased by more than $ 150 billion, possibly the fastest period of prosperity in history. Its rise was fueled by an unprecedented rise in Tesla’s stock price, which rose 743% last year thanks to consistent earnings, inclusion in the S&P 500 Index and enthusiasm from Wall Street and retail investors alike.

Elon’s pay is largely tied up in stock that and may or may not ever become a reality, depending on Tesla’s future. But it’s always nice to be the very best.

5th gear: Model Y sales in China are high

There are waiting times there for the car, which in terms of sales has basically met expectations. The expectations mentioned were enormous.

From Bloomberg:

A basic version of the electric car currently being purchased will be delivered in the second quarter and a performance variant in the third quarter, Tesla’s website revealed. When Tesla announced the price last week and began sales, it said deliveries would take place this month.

A strong start for the vehicle would be a boon for Tesla as it tries to maintain its lead in the premium segment over rivals such as Nio Inc. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the Model Y has the potential to outperform any other vehicle it makes, and the company set the vehicle’s price below other brands to maintain a competitive edge.

“Based on the order intake and our production plan, we have adjusted the Model Y delivery time of the latest orders to the second quarter,” a Tesla representative said Thursday via WeChat.

Reverse: balloon? Balloon!