Tesla Loses Even More Ground In China

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Happy Monday! It's November 10, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking astatine Tesla's income figures successful China, arsenic good arsenic nan extremity of nan short-lived Nexperia spot shortage. We'll besides look astatine Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe's caller salary package, and nan latest big-name departure from Tesla. 

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China's electrical car marketplace is beautiful cutthroat these days, and Tesla has been facing an uphill conflict against its aging vehicles and politically divisive CEO. This each came together successful October, erstwhile Tesla's income successful China dropped to their lowest numbers successful years. From Reuters:

Tesla's sales successful China dropped to 26,006 vehicles successful October, their lowest successful 3 years, arsenic nan U.S. electrical conveyance shaper struggles pinch tepid request successful nan hyper-competitive market.

Sales fell 35.8% from a twelvemonth earlier, down from September's fig of 71,525 erstwhile Tesla began deliveries of nan Model Y L, a longer-wheelbase and six-seat type of its best-selling Model Y SUV until now only disposable successful China.

Those large Tesla issues — nan aging lineup, nan CEO whose authorities alienate nan halfway assemblage for electrical vehicles — shouldn't beryllium difficult for specified a monolithic institution pinch specified a staggering marketplace headdress to solve. Unfortunately for Tesla, booting Elon would besides vessel that marketplace headdress backmost down to thing that really befits a niche automaker pinch declining sales. Not a awesome position to beryllium in, if you're nan board. 

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Another spot shortage has held up car accumulation globally, forcing automakers to idle proviso lines aliases scramble for substitutes, acknowledgment to a conflict betwixt nan Netherlands and China. Now, arsenic quickly arsenic it started, it seems that shortage could beryllium ending. China is allowing chips from Nexperia to travel erstwhile again, and carmakers are thankful. From Automotive News:

China has granted exemptions to export controls connected Nexperia chips for civilian applications, nan commerce ministry said Nov. 9 successful a move that will thief to relieve proviso shortages for carmakers and automotive suppliers.

The announcement is nan strongest awesome yet from Beijing that it will easiness unit connected nan world car manufacture caused by export curbs imposed aft nan Dutch authorities took power of Nexperia, a ample shaper of basal chips utilized successful automotive electrical systems.

...

China's commerce ministry did not specify what it considered to beryllium civilian use, but nan announcement follows statements from German and Japanese companies saying that deliveries of Nexperia's Chinese-made chips had resumed.

Honda already trim its 2025 profit estimates based connected this spot shortage, and different companies person had their accumulation impacted. Hopefully things get backmost to normal soon. 

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CEOs astir nan world look to beryllium learning from Elon Musk — aliases astatine slightest his exorbitant salary packages tied to institution performance. Now Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe is getting successful connected nan trend, pinch a salary package that could salary retired $4.6 billion. From Reuters:

Electric pickup and SUV shaper Rivian said connected Friday it was giving its CEO a salary scheme worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic $4.6 cardinal complete nan adjacent decade, a woody akin to Tesla's grounds package for CEO Elon Musk, and linked to caller profit targets and little stock value milestones than a erstwhile deal.

The move by nan Rivian committee shows that nan Tesla scheme for Musk could go a exemplary for companies aiming to turn fast. Rivian's salary package for its CEO RJ Scaringe could beryllium 1 of nan richest successful history, depending connected what capacity goals are met.

Rivian said nan scheme will clasp its laminitis and support him focused connected maturation and profitability arsenic nan automaker, known for its R1S SUVs and R1T pickups, gears up to motorboat adjacent twelvemonth its smaller, much affordable R2 SUV that will compete pinch Tesla's best-selling Model Y crossover.

The Rivian scheme replaces 1 that nan committee said was not apt to beryllium met, pinch nan caller scheme having little goals successful position of stock growth.

I'm a instrumentality of Rivian, and I want nan institution to instrumentality astir and support producing cars good into nan future. I wonder, though, if it tin spend compensation deals for illustration this. 

Tesla

Tesla has been bleeding talent recently, and its latest nonaccomplishment is simply a large one: The caput of Cybertruck development, Siddhant Awasthi. He besides worked connected nan Model 3 line, some earlier and aft nan motorboat of nan Cybertruck, but now he's gone to greener pastures. From Bloomberg:

Tesla Inc.'s caput of nan Cybertruck programme is leaving nan company, adding to a bid of high-level departures this twelvemonth arsenic nan electric-vehicle shaper struggles pinch uneven sales.

Siddhant Awasthi, who oversaw nan improvement and ramp-up of nan divisive pickup truck, is departing Tesla aft 3 years successful that role, he said successful a station connected LinkedIn.

"This determination wasn't easy, particularly pinch truthful overmuch breathtaking maturation connected nan horizon," Awasthi wrote. He didn't specify what he'll do next.

His determination follows a drawstring of executive exits astatine Tesla, which has grappled pinch lukewarm user request and nan nonaccomplishment of cardinal US incentives while pursuing caller business lines astir robotaxis and humanoid robots. David Lau, Tesla's vice president of package engineering, this twelvemonth near for OpenAI aft almost 13 years.

Awasthi had been astatine Tesla for astir a decade, starting successful 2017, which is simply a agelong clip for anyone to enactment astatine immoderate company. Still, he's not nan only higher-up astatine nan institution to time off recently, arsenic nan underlying car income person gotten little and little sound. This is what we successful nan business telephone a "bad sign." 

Fifty years of nan Edmund Fitzgerald.