The Lucid Motors boss Peter Rawlinson is fluent in the language of the new breed of electric carmaker: he wants to save the planet and he wants to do it fast.

The California carmaker is only starting production of its hotly anticipated first model in the second half of this year but it has quickly come to be seen as one of the leaders in the pack of would-be rivals to Tesla. A recent $24bn (17bn) deal to list on US stock markets will give it $4.6bn in funds to play with.

Such is the urgency of the impending environmental crisis facing the world, according to Rawlinson, that Lucid is hoping to work with mass-market carmakers to get its technology into production as soon as possible.

Lucid has been approached by a few car companies this year over licensing deals, Rawlinson told the Guardian. Those talks have yielded nothing tangible yet and the prospect of earning revenues from partnerships with other carmakers, he says, remains very speculative. However, there is mouthwatering potential, and the right partner could yield an affordable electric car within four years, he says.

He declined to comment when asked if Lucid had been approached by Apple, the iPhone maker that is considering making an electric car.

The big picture is, Ive got this dichotomy, Rawlinson said, speaking via video call from California. The dichotomy is we need to get millions of $25,000 cars into production fast to save the planet. Weve got the right technology but as a company I cant get there for about eight, nine years, and its too late.

A deal with carmakers such as Honda, Hyundai or Toyota (named by Rawlinson) would be the icing on the cake for a company still without a single car sale which has become one of the flagbearers of the US electric car Spac boom (or bubble, according to taste). Rivals that are also using special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) to list in the US include the UKs Arrival and the USs Canoo, Fisker, Lordstown and Rivian on top of Chinese contenders such as Li Auto, Nio and Xpeng.

What sets Lucids Spac apart is its size. The $4.6bn funding it will get from the listing, if completed, will include $2.1bn directly from the Spac cash shell and another $2.5bn from investors led by Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund, which is its biggest shareholder.

That arguably makes Rawlinson Britains most influential carmaker albeit one firmly based in California.

Rawlinson grew up in south Wales, going to school in Cowbridge, near Cardiff. He considered art school but instead studied mechanical engineering at Imperial College London. He worked at Jaguar and Lotus in the UK before joining an ambitious new electric carmaker. That company was Elon Musks Tesla, and Rawlinson ended up as chief engineer for Teslas Model S.

In 2013, Rawlinson moved to Atieva, which made batteries for the electric Formula E race series. Atieva eventually decided to move into car production, and Rawlinson persuaded it to change its name to Lucid.

Rawlinson is following the Tesla business model closely, from targeting its first cars at wealthier buyers through to starting a home battery business on the side. Rawlinson is complimentary about his former employer, saying it has the best electric technology in production today.

Tomorrow might be a different matter. Lucids claims for its cars have not yet been proven but they are extraordinary.

The Lucid Air, with production starting in the second half of this year, is aiming for a range of 517 miles for its $161,000 flagship model. Such a long driving distance between recharging would put a stop to the range anxiety, which so many motorists cite as a drawback to buying electric.

The Airs promised acceleration of 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds would also outpace a Ferrari but with zero exhaust carbon emissions.

There is not one big technological reveal for how this grand aim will be achieved. Instead, Lucid is slicing off inefficiencies wherever it can find them, with battery, gears, power electronics and motor all developed in-house. Examples of important developments are batteries that have a simpler manufacturing process, or a motor that can have coolant pumped directly through it, allowing more efficient heat management.

Lucid employs almost 2,000 people, with 3,000 workers expected to be added in the US by the end of 2022. The factory it has built in Arizona can theoretically make 34,000 cars a year. By 2023 it is hoping for about 90,000 units when it will be selling a seven-seater SUV that currently has the moniker Project Gravity.

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By 2025 it speculates it will have revenues of $14bn which would represent an astonishing growth rate. Five years after that it hopes to produce 500,000 cars a year, possibly with factories in China and the Middle East. That would still only be a fraction of mass-volume carmakers with similar valuations but it would not be for a lack of ambition on Lucids part.

All mankind will benefit from the technology we bring in this high-end product, Rawlinson said, because it will cascade down to more affordable cars that were going to make in the future.

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Meet the Briton leading a Tesla rival who wants to save the planet - The Guardian

Tesla has filed an appeal against a National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) ruling, which commanded CEO Elon Musk to delete an anti-union tweet.

The company is also requesting that the US Court of Appeals review the board's decisionthat the company breached US labor law after it fired a union activist, Reuters reported.

The tweet in question was posted in 2018. Musk wrote:"Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare."

Last month, the NLRB ordered Musk to remove the tweet and publicly address the unlawful tweet at all of its sites, and include speech that says, "WE WILL take appropriate steps to ensure Musk complies with our directive," according to Reuters.

The NLRB told Tesla to reinstate a former employee and revoke a ban on the sharing of union details in its car park without prior company permission.

Tesla workers at its Fremont plant had been trying to form a union with the United Auto Workers, amid apparently grueling working conditions, as Insider previously reported.

Tesla employees also accused the company of firing workers who were staying at home during the pandemic, despite previously telling staff they were able to do so.

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Tesla is appealing against a labor board ruling that ordered Elon Musk to delete an anti-union tweet - Business Insider

TipRanks

Working the stock market is a data game. Getting the best information, in a timely way, and knowing how to use it, are keys to success. So, here are some numbers to think about. According to industry market research, artificial intelligence companies and products are on the verge of explosive growth. The AI market was valued at $9.5 billion in 2018, over $27 billion in 2019, and is projected to exceed $250 billion in 2027. AI refers to the use of data to simulate human intelligence processes including learning, reasoning and self-correction by machines. AI is making its way into almost every industry. Data collection and collation, automation systems from factories to self-driving cars, even online shopping site they all benefit from AI applications. And this has not been ignored by Wall Street. Analysts say that plenty of compelling investments can be found within this space. With this in mind, weve opened up TipRanks database to find two AI stocks that have gotten the seal of approval from 5-star analysts, stock pros rated among the top 3% of their peers. Lets find out why they recommend these two AI plays. Veritone, Inc. (VERI) The first AI stock we're looking at is Veritone, a software company whose flagship product, an AI-powered operating system called aiWARE, allows the user to coordinate machine learning models and integrate disparate data sources including audio and visual into actionable intelligence results. The system boasts an open architecture, and has been applied in the entertainment, government, legal, and media sectors. At the beginning of March, Veritone released its 4Q20 earnings, showing record quarterly revenue at $16.8 million a year-over-year gain of 35%. The increase was driven by yoy sales gains in aiWARE SaaS, which was up 53%, and Advertising, which was up 50%. However, Veritone stock saw a 49% fall from the peak value it hit in February. Investors liked the strong financials, but there is some worry about the companys future guidance. Management is predicting a non-GAAP net loss in the range of $3.9 million to $4.4 million in 1Q21, and while that represents a 38% improvement at the mid-point from 1Q20, investors do want to see a profit. Roth Capital's 5-star analyst Darren Aftahi, however, thinks this new, lower stock price could offer new investors an opportunity to get into VERI on the cheap. Aftahi sees this stock as a well-positioned AI growth story. VERI put up better 4Q results, but more importantly, accelerating topline growth in both AI SaaS and Advertising (both over 50%). If our assumption about its Content and Licensing business returning to 2019 levels (with modest growth) is correct in 2021, it implies its 2021 guide (which was much better by the way) for advertising and AI SaaS is north of 40% growth (~30% for Advertising and ~low 60%s for AI). Most importantly, its AI SaaS line was guided to 60-65% growth, showing a doubling of growth y/y, Aftahi noted. In line with his comments, Aftahi rates the stock a Buy, and his $50 price target implies growth of 104% in the year ahead. (To watch Aftahis track record, click here) All in all, with a share price of $24.53 and a consensus average price target of $38.75, VERI shares offer investors a chance for 58% share growth this year. The analyst consensus rating, a Moderate Buy, is based on 3 Buy reviews and 1 Sell. (See VERI stock analysis on TipRanks) Verint Systems (VRNT) Verint stock has appreciated 107% over the last 12 months, with a large part of that gain coming in a 31% jump at the beginning of February. That jump came in reaction to the companys split into two entities Cognyte, the spin-off, took on the parents intelligence and cyber operations, while Verint continued as a pure-play, AI-powered customer engagement service. The company uses its combination of market experience and AI and analytic products to enable customers to optimize their automation, knowledge, and workforce. Verints fiscal year 2021 ended on January 31, the day before the split, and the company reported its Q4 and full year results at the end of March. Those results beat expectations for the quarter, with $349 million in total revenue a 3% year-over-year gain. For the full year, however, the $1.27 billion in revenue was a shade below the $1.3 billion reported in the previous year. The Q4 data bodes for the Verint in its pure-play customer engagement incarnation, as those AI cloud sectors grew more than 30% year-over-year in that quarter. Calling Verint a "unique AI engagement company," Oppenheimer's 5-star analyst Timothy Horan sees the new Verint in a strong position to move forward. VRNT reported solid 4Q21 earnings and is now a pure play customer engagement AI company following its split. VRNT is successfully executing its transition to a SaaS/ Cloud model. New perpetual license bookings (PLE) was up 15% this quarter. The transition away from licensed sales is difficult but largely behind it as revenue growth should accelerate from this quarter onward. Cloud demand has seen a healthy 50/50 split between existing and new customers. Getting to the bottom line, Horan adds, It exited the year with strong momentum in cloud and bookings. We think it can continue to sign large cloud deals across contact center and other verticals. These are upbeat comments, and Horan backs them with an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating, and a $60 price target indicating room for ~32% growth in the next 12 months. (To watch Horans track record, click here) Overall, there is broad agreement on Wall Street that Verint is a stock to Buy, as shown by the unanimous Strong Buy analyst consensus rating. This is based on 6 recent positive reviews. The shares have an average price target of $59.33, suggesting ~30% upside potential from the current trading price of $45.50. (See VRNT stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for AI stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, GM, JetBlue, Lululemon, Tesla And More - Yahoo Finance

While Covid-19 ravaged the broader American economy, the largest U.S. employers added more jobs than they cut.

Overall, global employment rose by about 370,000 people among the 286 members of the S&P 500 that filed annual reports between July 1 and March 31, a Wall Street Journal analysis of securities filings shows.

Those gains masked wrenching changes and job losses for workers in many companies and industries. And the net gain in jobs for 2020 wouldnt have happened without a single company: Amazon . com Inc.

The giant internet retailer added 500,000 workers around the world during the yearmore than 400,000 of them in the U.S. Amazon created nearly as many jobs last year as the 136 other companies in the Journal analysis that added workers.

By hiring that many people, we were not only able to deliver essential items for our customers during a critical time, but also provide an opportunity to those who lost their jobs or saw their hours cut because of Covid, said Beth Galetti, Amazons senior vice president for human resources. Amazon became an employment beacon for hundreds of American communities. Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama are voting on whether to unionize.

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Tesla, Facebook, FedEx Hired Through the Pandemic as GE, Marriott, Others Shed Jobs - The Wall Street Journal

HyperChanges Gali Russell (aka @GFilche on Twitter) released a video on why he thinks Tesla will be the worlds biggest company. Just last month, Elon Musk tweeted that there was a >0% chance that Tesla could become the biggest company, as an obvious joke. While that seemed to just be a joke (theres a greater than 0% chance of basically everything), Gali wanted to make the point that Tesla really could become the worlds largest company, and I agree with him. (Note: Im a small shareholder in Tesla and fully believe in its mission.)

Tesla is poised to be the worlds largest company. Its not an exaggeration. Im not joking. I truly think that is about to be whats gonna happen, Gali said at the beginning of his video. Gali explained that although you see a few Teslas in every city, in a couple of years its going to be a combination of the 3, Y, and a cheaper Model 2 which could also be a robotaxi.

He also mentioned the Tesla ridesharing app, where you will be able to request a clean swag sustainable ride wherever you go, if all goes according to plan.

This is going to be an absolute game changer for many cities in the economy and unlock trillions of value for Tesla.

Gali explained how a $45 billion run rate in revenue justifies $520 trillion within the next few years. Tesla has two mega financial tailwinds, he explained.

1. Tesla is producing its vehicles at a rapid pace that is compounding from 1 million this year to what Gali estimates will be 10 million in about 5 years.

2. Teslas profit per vehicle can go from around $10,000 to a range of $50,000 to $70,000.

Gali pointed out that this is a double trifecta not only are vehicles produced going up quickly, but also the profit per vehicle produced is increasing significantly. This is just the FSD, robotaxi business that were talking about, he pointed out. Gali believes that this financial tailwind will take Tesla to $3050 billion in earnings extremely quickly and noted that the math justifies itself. As proof, Gali mentioned Teslas Q4 2020 figures. In that quarter, Tesla was selling FSD (Full Self-Driving) at $10,000 and Tesla delivered over 500,000 EVs. (Remember that impossible milestone?)

Were looking at a $2 billion operating cash flow in a single quarter. Thats $12 billion a year, he pointed out, adding that he thinks Tesla will not just double or triple that but actually multiply that by 10 times. In a nutshell, Tesla will within the next 5 years be building 8 as many cars and be 4 as profitable per car produced. Gali also noted in the video that Teslas annual operating cash flow run-rate could go from $12 billion (Q4 2020) to $420 billion at around or less than 10 million cars per year.

One of the largest things in the market that people do not understand is that Teslas FSD and robotaxi plan is such a big deal or just dont believe in it. The fact that FSD exists, its in the wild. People can use it. Theyre training it and making it better every single day, Gali explained.

Theres 2,000 that have this software, but theyre on the cusp of rolling it out to a million vehicles and I think this why Elon let it slip that Tesla might become the worlds most valuable company, because the bottom line is once people realize this game-changing feature is not some pie in the sky thing, its not insanely far away but its literally here you can literally self-drive your Tesla today theyre going to roll this out. This is going to immediately justify a price increase of FSD from $10,000 to I think $25,000 is what I would say its worth right now with the FSD at the current level assuming it doesnt get better.

In the video, Gali showed a document that detailed the revenue in 2019 of state-owned oil companies and noted the peak oil revenue for 2019 from the worlds nine largest state-owned oil companies was $1.5 trillion.

These nine companies that are listed in the document (in the video) are:

Gali explained why companies like Ford and GM have only $50 billion market caps. They dont really extract a lot of the value. A lot of thats going to part suppliers. A lot of thats going to dealers. A lot of thats going to the oil companies. Automakers, in comparison to Tesla, are not making that much money on each vehicle sale.

Tesla, Gali explained, is vertically integrating charging for both energy creation and energy consumption, among other things. Tesla has its own Supercharger network and does not have dealerships. Teslas soaking up the market capitalization of not just automotive companies, but truly all sorts of energy companies. When you add up the revenue of all of this, its trillions of dollars in revenue.

Being the propulsion technology of humanity is multi trillions of dollars in revenue.

Gali points to what Tesla is doing in Texas. Instead of having a peaker plant to supply energy to the grid in Texas, Tesla is using its battery technology to do it better and cheaper while making it financially viable.

Gambit Energy Storage, a subsidiary of Tesla, is working on a massive energy storage project near Houston which will have a capacity of 100 megawatts enough to power about 20,000 homes and should go into operation this June. You can read more about that here.

This is just the start of another multi-trillion dollar problem that Teslas going to fix. Because once were charging 8 million Teslas on the grid, the grids going to break. Its already super unstable. Gali explained that much like what is happening in the financial markets, everything is going into this decentralized future (think Bitcoin) the energy markets are going from centralization to decentralization as well.

This is just the first half of Galis video. I encourage you to watch the full thing for yourself. Its exciting to think about the future and know that clean energy and sustainability are the focus of that bright future. You can watch Galis video here or via the embed above.

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HyperChange: Tesla Will Be The Worlds Biggest Company - CleanTechnica

Edmunds' test team recently published the results of its real-world range testing for electric vehicles. Notably, every Tesla the team tested in 2020 came up short of matching the EPA's range estimate. Almost all other EVs Edmunds tested met or exceeded those estimates.

That result, as you can likely guess, ruffled some feathers at Tesla headquarters.

A CHALLENGE FROM TESLA

The lackluster results prompted the automaker to reach out to the Edmunds test team. Tesla's engineers disputed our figures and argued that by stopping our EV range tests at zero indicated miles, rather than pressing on until the battery died, we were underestimating their vehicles' true range.

Tesla said its vehicles have a safety buffer that ensures drivers can keep going even when the indicated range displayed zero miles. And when you factored in this buffer, Tesla argued, it would allow their vehicles to match the EPA range estimates, which are typically measured when the battery is fully depleted.

It was a challenge we at Edmunds were up for, so we rented a 7.5-mile-long closed-course oval at an unaffiliated automaker's proving ground in California's Mojave Desert. This facility allowed us to safely drive five EVs until their battery power completely ran out. Tesla provided a Model 3 Long Range for us to test. We also brought along the Edmunds-owned Model 3 Standard Range Plus and Model Y Performance used in our original range testing, plus two non-Teslas for comparison purposes: a Ford Mustang Mach-E and an Volkswagen ID.4. These were also provided by their manufacturers.

THE TEST

Most in-car range meters factor in your recent driving habits when forecasting the remaining range. Edmunds' editors needed to drive the vehicles in the same manner to normalize the range meters and provide a level playing field.

At the test track, we drove the five EVs at a common highway speed of 65 mph, with the automatic climate control set to 72 degrees, audio off, no accessories plugged in, and with drivers rotating in one-hour shifts, until the batteries were depleted. Once each vehicle's range estimate indicated zero miles, we measured how far it could go before coming to a complete stop.

Miles Traveled Past Zero

Ford Mustang Mach-E Extended Range: 7.3 miles

Tesla Model Y Performance: 12.6 miles

Volkswagen ID.4: 12.9 miles

Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus: 17.6 miles

Tesla Model 3 Long Range: 25.9 miles

Notice how the buffer can vary even within the same brand. The Model 3 Long Range went twice as far as the Model Y. What's more, there was no indication how far you could keep going since all vehicles simply read zero miles remaining. For all we knew, the cars could stop at any moment.

BOLSTERING OUR RESULTS

We also ran a control test on the Edmunds' EV range route with the Model 3 Long Range and Model Y Performance, driving them to the end of their battery life on public roads. The Model Y traveled 11 miles past zero and the Model 3 went an extra 17.5 miles; both were less than the buffers we experienced at the test track.

We asked Tesla about this discrepancy in the reserve range. The automaker said that the buffer was based on a combination of near-past conditions and instantaneous conditions, essentially the weather and terrain variation, which was why "the buffer cannot be defined exactly to a number every time."

TAKEAWAYS FOR THE EV SHOPPER

Some Teslas would be capable of meeting their EPA estimates in Edmunds' real-world range test if we included their reserve battery range, or the distance we traveled running beyond the point of zero indicated miles left.

But even in this scenario, there would be requirements such as driving conservatively in a temperate climate and using Tesla's maximum battery charge, even though Tesla recommends this for long-distance trips only.

The majority of Teslas we've tested so far four of the six do not meet their EPA estimates even allowing for a safety buffer. Furthermore, almost every other EV Edmunds has tested met or exceeded EPA estimates without the need to include their safety buffers.

Potential Tesla shoppers should know that to use the full range as advertised, they need to feel comfortable going past the zero indicated mile mark. This is not only risky, but it also requires the owner to deeply discharge the battery, which isn't recommended for the long-term health of the battery.

EDMUNDS SAYS: Edmunds' EV range test isn't meant to be the definitive word on a vehicle's range but rather a real-world complement to the laboratory-based EPA testing. We'll continue to test to an indicated zero because we'd never advise customers to rely on the unpredictable buffer range.

_______

This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive websiteEdmunds. Ronald Montoya is a senior consumer advice editor at Edmunds.

RELATED LINKS:

Testing Tesla'sRange Anxiety.

Why electric vehicleranges varyfrom EPA estimate.

EdmundsBest Electric Carsof 2021 and 2022.

Electric CarRange and Consumption.

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Edmunds puts Tesla's range to the test - Chattanooga Times Free Press

After renaming Boca Chica as Starbase, Elon Musk now wants to hire you at a Tesla factory in Austin if youre willing to move there on an immediate basis. Days after posting a tweet urging people to move to Boca Chica, Musk is now urging people to move to Austin. The Tesla CEO and SpaceX boss took to his Twitter account to share that a Tesla manufacturing plant being built near Austin will hire more than 10,000 people through 2022 adding that that student dont need a college degree to work with the brand. Students can apply for jobs at the plant right after high school.

According to Financial Times, the upcoming $1.1 billion Tesla Gigafactory at Austin, Texas, which would produce Cybertruck, Semi truck, Model 3 sedan, and Model Y mid-size SUV, is looking to hire more than 10,000 people through 2022. Musk had earlier announced in July that the construction work is proceeding rapidly on the companys newest manufacturing facility. According to a report by Austin American-Statesman, if Tesla will hire 10,000 workers then it will be double the minimum number of hires the company had promised earlier, which was 5,000.

In a new tweet, he urged people to move and also the need to build more housing for his potential employees.

Musk in his earlier tweet further listed the benefits of joining the new Giga Texas. He revealed the job site is situated just five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from downtown and right on the Colorado River. However, no extra details were provided by Musk via the tweet.Also, on Tuesday Musk had urged people to move to South Texas for his aerospace company SpaceX and encourage friends to do so.

While Austin was an urban area already developed, Boca Chica was far from it. People living in the calm location of Boca Chica, a remote beach community in the southernmost part of Texas, had a life filled with tranquillity. Then Elon Musk came up with his SpaceX company there. Tesla CEO and SpaceX boss, billionaire Elon Musk had fixated on Boca Chica in Texas, US almost a year ago. In March, he announced that he wants to rename it as Starbase. SpaceX is currently building a new factory in Texas for its satellite-based broadband service Starlink, according to a job posting from the company, as a billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk continues to invest in the southern US state.

Boca Chica isnt the ideal place to construct a base for a space exploration company, reports Esquire. The nearest grocery store is a 30-minute drive away, the cell service is poor and there is very little fresh water. But it was quiet, which it isnt anymore.

Most of the Boca Chica were retirees and loved spending their time in peace. But all that changed when Musk decided to start his SpaceX company in the area. Now, loud thuds and sounds of trucks are all common there.

SpaceX was growing at a rapid pace and Boca Chica residents soon got to know that that meant trouble for them. At the end of last year, the private space company offered to buy their homes.

Expansion of spaceflight activities will make it increasingly more challenging to minimize disruption, SpaceX had said in a letter to the residents. The residents have been vocal about what its like to have the experience of being Musks neighbour and it was all negative.

In August last year, SpaceX hinted at a resort also being set up in Boca Chica, in a post mentioning the search for a candidate to fill up the job of a talented Resort Development Manager to oversee the development of SpaceXs first resort.

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Elon Musk's Tesla Will Hire You Without a College Degree If You Move to Austin, Texas Right Away - News18

In its March 25decision, the NLRB unanimously held that: (1) Tesla violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) after prohibiting employees from talking to the media; (2) Tesla did not violate the Act by calling employees into a meeting to discuss their potential unionization; and (3) Tesla must order CEO Elon Musk to delete his tweet about the employees attempt to unionize, as it was unlawfully coercive in violation of the Act.

Media Contact Provision of Confidentiality Agreement Violated the Act

In 2016, Tesla required its employees to sign a confidentiality agreement in response to leaks of confidential company information. As part of the agreement, Tesla reminded its employees that it is never OK to communicate with the media or someone closely related to the media about Tesla, unless [the employee has] been specifically authorized in writing to do so.

Here, the Administrative Law Judge found that the confidentiality agreement was lawful because considering that it was sent in response to leaks of confidential information, employees would reasonably interpret the agreement to apply only to proprietary information. Further, the Judge found that any potential interference with Section 7 rights was outweighed by Teslas interest in protecting such confidential information.

In 2017, the NLRB set a new standard for determining whether facially neutral work rules or policies would unlawfully interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in violation of Section 7 of the NLRA. In Boeing Co., 365 NLRB No. 154 (2017), the Board held that: [W]hen evaluating a facially neutral policy, rule or handbook provision that, when reasonably interpreted, would potentially interfere with the exercise of NLRA rights, the Board will evaluate two things: (i) the nature and extent of the potential impact on NLRA rights, and (ii) legitimate justifications associated with the rule. In conducting this balancing test, the Board considers the rule or policy from the employees perspective. If the balance favors general employer interests, the rule or policy will be deemed lawful, but if the potential interference with Section 7 rights outweighs any possible employer justification, the rule will be deemed unlawful.

The Board applied the Boeing standard for facially-neutral work rules and reversed the ALJ, and held that the provision in the agreement that prohibited employees from talking to the media without permission was unlawful in violation of Section 8(a)(1). The Board applied prior precedent and found that the language in the media-contact provision applied to information beyond what the confidentiality agreement defined to be confidential information, even if read in conjunction with the introduction explaining that the policy was created in response to leaked information.

The Board held that [t]hat general statement d[id] not change the meaning of the plain language of the media-contact provision, which employees would reasonably interpret to apply to communications with the media about any matter regarding [Tesla], including working conditions, labor disputes, or other terms and conditions of employment.

Additionally, because the provision did not include language limiting the restrictions to statements made to the media on behalf of Tesla, and required prior approval for any statements whatsoever, it clearly infringed on the employees Section 7 rights. Teslas justification for attempting such restriction did not outweigh the right of its employees to communicate with the media about labor disputes and their terms and conditions of employmenta concept central to the Actand, as such, Tesla violated Section 8(a)(1) by maintaining such a provision.

Tesla Did Not Violate the Act for its Conduct when Its Employees Attempted to Unionize

In 2017, a Tesla employee sent a petition to HR and to CEO Elon Musk, discussing the safety concerns of many employees and noting their intent to form a union in order to protect themselves and ensure their safety. Shortly after circulating the petition, HR brought the employee to a conference room with Musk, seeking to directly discuss the employees safety concerns. During the meeting, the employee noted that he thought a union would help give the employees a voice. Musk responded, [Y]ou dont really have a voice. The [Union] is a secondlike two-class system where [the Union] is the only one that has a voice and not the workers.

First, the Board found that the meeting with Musk did not violate Section 8(a)(1), as Tesla did not unlawfully solicit the employees safety concerns and impliedly promise to remedy them. The meeting was a result of the employees petition that had been sent directly to HR and Musk, and was an attempt to understandably learn more about the serious safety concerns alleged in the petition. Further, the petition did not detail any specific hazards and there was no explicit or implicit promise to remedy the safety concerns. As such, the meeting could not be categorized as an unlawful solicitation of grievances.

Second, the Board concluded that Musks statement was lawful because an employer may criticize, disparage, or denigrate a union without running afoul of Section 8(a)(1), as long as the employer does not threaten an employees Section 7 rights. Musk did not imply that Tesla would use unlawful means to ensure the employees were unable to unionize, and simply explained one effect of unionizationthat employees would take up any grievances with Tesla through the Union, who would speak on their behalf.

Elon Musks Tweet Violated the Act

Even though the Board found that Tesla did not violate the act by calling an employee into a meeting to discuss unionization, the Board affirmed the ALJs finding that Musks subsequent tweet on May 20, 2018to approximately 22 million of his followerswas unlawfully coercive: Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare. The Board agreed that Musks commentary lost the protection of the Act because it amounted to a threat that employees would lose their stock options if they unionized; it was not a prediction carefully phrased based on objective fact[s] of what may occur as the result of good-faith collective bargaining. As part of its decision, the Board ordered Tesla to have Musk delete his unlawful tweet and take steps to ensure he complies.

Takeaways

This decision instructively highlights the pitfalls with public communications on social media by the employer and supervisors in response to unionization, reaffirming the principle that while employers have a right to free speech during an organizing campaign, that right must be exercised in a manner that is not overly coercive. The Board held that Musks tweet, to his 22 million followers, was unlawful principally because of the reference to the fact that Tesla employees would give up stock options for nothing. This was construed as a threatwhich is unlawfulrather than a potential consequence of good-faith collective bargaining negotiations if a Union were selected by the employees, which could have been lawful. A fine distinction can be drawn based on the manner in which the statement is phrased and the surrounding context.

In addition, this decision reinforces that employers may lawfully restrict employees from talking to the media about proprietary information, but such provisions must be carefully crafted to ensure that they do not infringe on employees Section 7 rights. Employers should take care in ensuring that they do not categorically restrict employees from talking to the media without prior authorization.

[View source.]

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Tesla and Musk Get a Shock from the NLRB Tesla CEO Ordered to Delete Union Tweet and Eliminate Overly Broad Confidentiality Policy - JD Supra

One of the most common questions traders have about stocks is Why Is It Moving?

Thats why Benzinga created the Why Is It Moving, or WIIM, feature in Benzinga Pro. WIIMs are a one-sentence description as to why that stock is moving.

Here are the latest news and updates for Tesla, Netflix, Alibaba, Ford and Facebook.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) delivered 184,800 vehicles in the first quarter, handily beating the 168,000 expected by analysts. Estimates ranged from 145,000 to 188,000 deliveries, according to CNBC... Read More

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) shares were trading higher Thursday after Piper Sandler initiated coverage on the stock with an Overweight rating and announced a $605 price target.

Here are the analyst rating updates on Netflix since the beginning of March:

Date

Research Firm

Action

Current

PT

4/01/21

Piper Sandler

Initiates Coverage On

Overweight

605.0

3/23/21

Argus Research

Upgrades

Buy

650.0

3/15/21

Benchmark

Maintains

Sell

472.0

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) shares were trending Thursday. The stock looks to be nearing a support level and to test it soon. Alibaba also looks to be forming what technical traders call a descending triangle pattern... Read More

On CNBC's "The Exchange," Jerry Castellini discussed his playbook moving forward. Castellini, the president and chief investment officer of Castleark, was asked about Ford Motor Company, which is up 38% this year.

"You could buy Tesla today," Castellini said, "but you could also buy Ford at a tenth of its valuation, even up 38%, and participate in the electric vehicle phenomenon.... Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Facebook, Inc. (NADSAQ: FB) in a case that accused the social media giant of violating a federal anti-robocall law.

The lawsuit was filed by Montana resident Noah Duguid in California federal court in 2015. Duguid charged Facebook with sending him... Read More

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Is Now The Time To Buy Stock In Tesla, Netflix, Alibaba, Ford Or Facebook? - Yahoo Finance

With its new i4 electric car, BMW BMW, +0.23% is hoping to take a bite out of Teslas TSLA, -0.93% market dominance.

The i4 is a 4-door, 5-seat car that is similar in size to BMWs 3 Series, albeit with a profile more akin to the fastback 4 Series Gran Coupe. Unlike the 4 Series, though, the i4 is electric. BMW says its electric motors churn out up to 530 horsepower, and the automaker estimates a 300-mile electric range when the Environmental Protection Agency rates the car.

BMW says the car will scoot to 60 mph in around four seconds, though an M Performance version presumably boasting more power and sharper handling will follow.

We dont know what the i4 will cost when it arrives in the U.S. for the 2022 model year, but its safe to assume that BMW has the $37,490 Tesla Model 3 in its sights. Still, the i4 Gran Coupes 300-mile range doesnt quite match the 353-mile range of the current Tesla Model 3 Long Range (which starts at $46,490).

Still, the i4 does bring some new tricks to the party. For one, the cars Apple AAPL, +0.70% CarPlay compatibility will be able to calculate a route (using Apple Maps, of course) based on the cars available range, as well as any charging stations along the way. Additionally, those with iPhones can use their devices as a key fob to enter and start the i4. And you thought replacing a lost BMW key would be expensive.

See: Whats it like to drive the 2021 Maserati Ghibli?

BMW isnt quite done with gasoline engines which is good news for enthusiasts pining for a few more years or wringing out the German automakers legendary turbocharged powertrains. The automaker is aiming to convert half of its lineup to electric power by 2025, though it hasnt released a target date for going fully electric.

This story originally ran onAutotrader.com.

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BMW's new i4 is set to take on Tesla with 523 hp and a 300-mile range - MarketWatch

FILE PHOTO: A Tesla logo on a Model S is photographed inside of a Tesla dealership in New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

(Reuters) -The U.S. auto safety agency said on Monday that it will collect information about an accident in which a Tesla vehicle crashed into a tractor-trailer in New Jersey.

The Tesla driver, a 44-year-old, said he had his cruise control on when he momentarily lost focus on the roadway and drove his car under the trailer on Monday morning, according to a statement from the South Brunswick Township Police Department.

The impact was so severe it shredded the roof off the passengers side of the vehicle.

The Tesla was destroyed in the crash, but the driver received minor injuries.

NHTSA is aware of the Tesla crash on March 29 in New Jersey. We have contacted Tesla and local law enforcement regarding this crash and will act accordingly when we have more information, a representative of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement to Reuters.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comments.

The NHTSA said earlier this month that it had opened 27 investigations into crashes of Tesla vehicles, 23 of which remain active, and at least three of the crashes occurred in recent weeks.

Reporting by David Shepardson in WASHINGTON, Writing by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Himani Sarkar

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U.S. safety agency says it will gather information on Tesla-truck crash in New Jersey - Reuters

TipRanks

Working the stock market is a data game. Getting the best information, in a timely way, and knowing how to use it, are keys to success. So, here are some numbers to think about. According to industry market research, artificial intelligence companies and products are on the verge of explosive growth. The AI market was valued at $9.5 billion in 2018, over $27 billion in 2019, and is projected to exceed $250 billion in 2027. AI refers to the use of data to simulate human intelligence processes including learning, reasoning and self-correction by machines. AI is making its way into almost every industry. Data collection and collation, automation systems from factories to self-driving cars, even online shopping site they all benefit from AI applications. And this has not been ignored by Wall Street. Analysts say that plenty of compelling investments can be found within this space. With this in mind, weve opened up TipRanks database to find two AI stocks that have gotten the seal of approval from 5-star analysts, stock pros rated among the top 3% of their peers. Lets find out why they recommend these two AI plays. Veritone, Inc. (VERI) The first AI stock we're looking at is Veritone, a software company whose flagship product, an AI-powered operating system called aiWARE, allows the user to coordinate machine learning models and integrate disparate data sources including audio and visual into actionable intelligence results. The system boasts an open architecture, and has been applied in the entertainment, government, legal, and media sectors. At the beginning of March, Veritone released its 4Q20 earnings, showing record quarterly revenue at $16.8 million a year-over-year gain of 35%. The increase was driven by yoy sales gains in aiWARE SaaS, which was up 53%, and Advertising, which was up 50%. However, Veritone stock saw a 49% fall from the peak value it hit in February. Investors liked the strong financials, but there is some worry about the companys future guidance. Management is predicting a non-GAAP net loss in the range of $3.9 million to $4.4 million in 1Q21, and while that represents a 38% improvement at the mid-point from 1Q20, investors do want to see a profit. Roth Capital's 5-star analyst Darren Aftahi, however, thinks this new, lower stock price could offer new investors an opportunity to get into VERI on the cheap. Aftahi sees this stock as a well-positioned AI growth story. VERI put up better 4Q results, but more importantly, accelerating topline growth in both AI SaaS and Advertising (both over 50%). If our assumption about its Content and Licensing business returning to 2019 levels (with modest growth) is correct in 2021, it implies its 2021 guide (which was much better by the way) for advertising and AI SaaS is north of 40% growth (~30% for Advertising and ~low 60%s for AI). Most importantly, its AI SaaS line was guided to 60-65% growth, showing a doubling of growth y/y, Aftahi noted. In line with his comments, Aftahi rates the stock a Buy, and his $50 price target implies growth of 104% in the year ahead. (To watch Aftahis track record, click here) All in all, with a share price of $24.53 and a consensus average price target of $38.75, VERI shares offer investors a chance for 58% share growth this year. The analyst consensus rating, a Moderate Buy, is based on 3 Buy reviews and 1 Sell. (See VERI stock analysis on TipRanks) Verint Systems (VRNT) Verint stock has appreciated 107% over the last 12 months, with a large part of that gain coming in a 31% jump at the beginning of February. That jump came in reaction to the companys split into two entities Cognyte, the spin-off, took on the parents intelligence and cyber operations, while Verint continued as a pure-play, AI-powered customer engagement service. The company uses its combination of market experience and AI and analytic products to enable customers to optimize their automation, knowledge, and workforce. Verints fiscal year 2021 ended on January 31, the day before the split, and the company reported its Q4 and full year results at the end of March. Those results beat expectations for the quarter, with $349 million in total revenue a 3% year-over-year gain. For the full year, however, the $1.27 billion in revenue was a shade below the $1.3 billion reported in the previous year. The Q4 data bodes for the Verint in its pure-play customer engagement incarnation, as those AI cloud sectors grew more than 30% year-over-year in that quarter. Calling Verint a "unique AI engagement company," Oppenheimer's 5-star analyst Timothy Horan sees the new Verint in a strong position to move forward. VRNT reported solid 4Q21 earnings and is now a pure play customer engagement AI company following its split. VRNT is successfully executing its transition to a SaaS/ Cloud model. New perpetual license bookings (PLE) was up 15% this quarter. The transition away from licensed sales is difficult but largely behind it as revenue growth should accelerate from this quarter onward. Cloud demand has seen a healthy 50/50 split between existing and new customers. Getting to the bottom line, Horan adds, It exited the year with strong momentum in cloud and bookings. We think it can continue to sign large cloud deals across contact center and other verticals. These are upbeat comments, and Horan backs them with an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating, and a $60 price target indicating room for ~32% growth in the next 12 months. (To watch Horans track record, click here) Overall, there is broad agreement on Wall Street that Verint is a stock to Buy, as shown by the unanimous Strong Buy analyst consensus rating. This is based on 6 recent positive reviews. The shares have an average price target of $59.33, suggesting ~30% upside potential from the current trading price of $45.50. (See VRNT stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for AI stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Analyst Expects Tesla, GM To See EV Tax Credits Restored With Biden Kicking Off US 'Green Tidal Wave' - Yahoo Finance

Back in February, Edmunds published data that it gathered from testing the driving range of 17 EVs currently for sale and compared its findings to their official U.S. Environmental Protection Agency figures. The Porsche Taycan did incredibly well, surpassing its predicted range by over 100 miles, but as it's to be expected, not every car fared as well. Specifically, every single Teslasix models were testedactually fell short of their EPA estimates.

According to the publication, that aggrieved some engineers at Tesla, of course, who reached out to Edmunds staffto say that its test procedure was all wrong: In a Tesla, the claimed driving range apparently doesn't end at zero miles remaining, but when the car actually drains its "safety buffer" and comes to a complete stop.

In a nutshell, even when using the safety buffer, in controlled conditions, four of the six Tesla cars Edmundstested for range did not hit their EPA mileage. Two didbut in the real world, you're not actually meant to use that safety buffer, both because it's bad for your battery and because it's, well, out of range. You don't have any idea how much further you can drive once the remaining range drops below zero, so while that buffer might be a life-saver in an emergency, it's really not something that folks should count on using or abusing on a daily basis. Plus, as I said, it actually harms the batteryso why would Tesla insist on counting this buffer as part of the EPA-estimated driving range?

There are some factors that affect battery capacity and range, like cold weather or uphill driving, for example. Edmunds claims to have controlled these variables by performing these tests at a temperate, flat track. On the other hand, you can argue that running at a consistent 65 mph, as it didnot the world's most thrilling track dayrobs the cars of potential regeneration under braking and lift-and-coast, plus it doesn't actually reflect real-world driving. So, Tesla, there's your get-out-of-jail card.

The original test where the Teslas fell short wasn't that dramatic; the 2021 Model 3 Long Range and the 2020 Model S Performance only came in eight miles below their EPA estimates. That difference may have felt amplified because pretty much every otherEV was delivering figures in excess of the EPA numbers, but it's not a giant gap that can probably be explained through environmental conditions and driving styles. Both those cars eventually went on to meet their EPA estimates when using the sub-zero mileage format recommended by Tesla, although as noted above - this isn't actually meant to be drivable range.

For the other Teslas tested, however, things didn't go as "well." The 2018 Model 3 Performance was off by 54 milesthis might not look that notable on a couple-year-old modelbut when the testing is performed in such friendly conditions that the 2020 Mini Cooper SE, with an EPA range of 110 miles, is exceeding that by 40 miles, then it just doesn't paint a pretty picture for the Tesla cars.

Edmunds then decided to retest the cars under the conditions Tesla told them to, charging the cars to 100 percent and then running until they came to a complete stop. The staff used a 2021 Mustang Mach-E and a 2020 Volkswagen ID.4 as sort of controls or "lead cars" along with three recent Tesla: the 2020 Model Y Performance, the 2020 Model 3 Standard Range Plus, and the 2021 Model 3 Long Range. Of those, the 2021 Model 3 Long Range went a massive 25.9 miles after it had hit zero remaining mileage, the 2020 Model 3 went 17.6, and the 2020 Model Y 12.9 miles. That's further than either the Mach-E, which traveled 7.3 miles after zero, or the ID.4, which squeezed another 12.6 miles after zero. This wasn't a huge deal for the Ford or the VW, as both had previously exceeded their EPA mileage under the test conditions by 34 and 37 miles respectively.

The 2021 Model 3 Long Range only met its EPA estimate using the extra mileage below zero, but more damningly, the other two didn't. The 2020 Model 3 Standard Range Plus had originally fallen 18 miles short of its EPA estimate, but then stopped at 0.4 miles off its target by driving past the zero mark. The 2020 Model Y Performance had fallen 28 miles short in the first test, and it was still 15.1 miles off target after fully draining the battery.

Will this push away prospective Tesla customers? Probably not. Tesla still offers some of the best driving ranges on any EV, after all. It's also still the leader in overall EV performance. It's just an odd situation, especially because you really shouldn't be cycling your battery to empty unless you have to. EV batteries, like all lithium-ion cells, stay healthiest if you keep them somewhere between 20 and 80 percent charged.

Tesla told Edmunds that the disparity was caused by its software being ultra-conservative about mileage estimates, with the safety buffer overestimated to get people home. But when every other car is, under the same conditions, exceeding their EPA estimate, it's at least a weird quirk that's landed Tesla on the wrong side of the numbers.

Got a story with mileage? Mail me at hazel@thedrive.com

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Tesla's EPA Driving Ranges Didn't Hold Up to Testing. It Tried Again and Still Fell Short - The Drive

After more than a year of negotiations between the City of Santa Maria and Tesla, a 5-year deal has been proposed to bring 32 charging stations to the city's Town Center mall.

"We are really thrilled that we can be part of this, said Mark van de Kamp, the City of Santa Marias public information officer.

There are a few electric vehicle charging stations around the city currently, including at Lowe's and the Santa Maria Health Care Center, but to find a Tesla Supercharger open to the public, you would have to drive a little farther, like to the Pismo Beach outlets or the Madonna Inn.

Tesla owner and Santa Maria resident Justin Boileau is happy to hear there could soon be some closer to home.

"That would be very exciting, it would be very convenient. Right now, I have to drive north to Pismo and often the parking lot is very congested and it's hard to actually get a slot in, Boileau said.

The charging station will include 20 "Level-3" chargers, also called superchargers, for Tesla drivers only.

There will also be 12 "Level-2" chargers for any other electric vehicle, free of charge.

"If it is approved and built, it will benefit both Tesla drivers and drivers of other electric vehicles will be able to charge and it will also benefit our downtown because they can park their vehicles and go shop at the local area, van de Kamp said.

That's something nearby candy shop owner Sheila Guge is looking forward to.

"Of course, after COVID we are all trying to recover so more traffic is better for everybody, Guge said.

As part of the deal, Tesla has agreed to pay the City of Santa Maria a $20,000 yearly rental fee with a 3% increase after five years - money the city says can be used to fund other city programs.

The station would take up 38 parking spaces with six being used for the station's transformers.

Tesla has also agreed to pay the fees for construction and maintenance.

"It looks like we have come to a pretty good arrangement and this will be in a location that is adjacent to Highway 101 and Main Street being Highway 166 it will be really convenient for people who are here in town or who are visiting, van de Kamp said.

The Santa Maria City Council is set to meet next Tuesday to vote on this proposal.

An exact date for when construction will begin, if the city decides to move forward, has not yet been determined.

City officials say it will more than likely begin this year.

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Tesla "Supercharger" station may be coming to the Santa Maria Town Center mall - KSBY San Luis Obispo News