Teutonic Tesla: Elon Musk’s busy week in Germany

Elon Musk's firm plans to have three shifts a day, each with 3,000 to 3,500 workers, industry insiders have said. The staff count is lower than promised when the firm applied for a permit to build in a protected area.

The Tesla founder spent much of the week in Germany, hobnobbing with politicians and visiting sites of commercial interest. Between his ventures in mobility and vaccines, his stake in the country appears to be growing.

Hundreds of billions of dollars have been wiped off the value of technology companies in recent days, after a major share sell-off. The electric carmaker Tesla was among the worst-hit companies, sliding 21 percent in trading on Tuesday. Investors are concerned that these firms' shares rose too quickly during the pandemic and are now overvalued. Despite the rout, most tech shares are still trading at much higher values than they were at the beginning of the year. Also today, we look at Uber's pledge to use more electric vehicles.

The head of Berlin's Mercedes-Benz production facility has decided he'll be better off working for Tesla, which is building a Gigafactory just outside the city. Workers are not amused and are staging protests.

Tesla's shares jumped by over 10% following the news that the electric car company will be added to the US leading S&P 500 stock index. The inclusion follows a snub in September.

News that electric carmaker Tesla has bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, and that it will start accepting payments in the cryptocurrency, sent its price to record highs. Bitcoin was trading over $47,000 early on Tuesday, according to the website Coindesk.

Tesla has revolutionized the auto industry, building cars for the future even as legacy carmakers could barely take their eyes off the rearview mirror. But now Tesla's days as the leader of the EV pack might be numbered.

Consumer Reports' investigation comes after a Tesla crashed into a tree in Texas, killing both men in the car. Authorities say neither of the victims were in the driver's seat at the time of the accident.

The price of Bitcoin took a tumble after Elon Musk said Tesla would no longer be accepting the cryptocurrency as a payment method. Musk raised concerns about the climate impact of Bitcoin mining.

The US government is investigating Tesla's partially automated driving system after crashes that left one person dead and 17 people injured.

Fresh accusations of racism have landed US carmaker Tesla in court. The electric car manufacturer has faced similar allegations in the past.

A US court has ruled in favor of a Black former employee who was subjected to racial abuse by his colleagues, ordering he be paid an unprecedented $130 million in damages.