Tesla Service goes on strike in Sweden; dockworkers refuse to unload cars
Tesla Service workers have gone on strike across Sweden due to Tesla’s refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement. In response, Swedish dockworkers have stated that they will refuse to unload Tesla vehicles in Swedish ports unless the conflict is resolved quickly.
Tesla does not have any manufacturing presence in Sweden, but it does have a significant sales presence.
Electric cars are incredibly popular in Sweden – not as much as in neighboring Norway, but pretty close, with about a 60% market share for plug-in cars in Sweden.
And, like in most other markets, the Tesla Model Y is the best-selling car there. (Tesla’s other models are far behind in sales.) Tesla has sold around 14,000 Model Ys in Sweden so far this year, about 6% of the total car market with just this one model.
So there are quite a few Teslas out and about, and those Teslas need someone to service them.
The problem is those service workers haven’t felt too appreciated by their employer. They say that working conditions are worse at Tesla than they are for other auto mechanics and want Tesla to sign a collective bargaining agreement to ensure that conditions are brought in line with the rest of the industry.
Collective bargaining agreements are incredibly common in Northern European countries. Union membership is high on its own – with about two-thirds of employees in Sweden belonging to a union. But many nonunion employees are still covered by collective bargaining agreements that are often negotiated industrywide. In terms of collective bargaining coverage, some 90% of workers across the Swedish economy find themselves protected by some sort of agreement. The country doesn’t even need a legally mandated minimum wage, since that is covered by collective bargaining agreements.
So, if anything, it’s a bit of a surprise that Tesla has gone this far without an agreement. Tesla famously opposes unionization, but as it has moved out of the American market (with its tiny ~10% union membership rate) and into international markets where collective bargaining is considered a matter of course, there were always bound to be conflicts.
One of those conflicts is happening now, with Swedish Tesla workers declaring a strike Friday, after posting notice last week of their intent to do so. Tesla did not come to the table in response to the notice, and thus workers have gone forward with the strike.
The strike includes around 130 workers in seven locations (Tesla operates 9 service centers in 7 cities in Sweden – we’re not sure, via translation, if the strike covers seven service centers or all seven cities). Not everyone who works at these locations is unionized, and because of European data privacy rules, neither the union nor the workers need to specify exactly which workers are part of the union.
It is being led by IF Metall, a major union covering hundreds of thousands of industrial workers across Sweden. The union says that it will remain on strike until a collective bargaining is in place and that it has plenty of funds to sustain the strike for months if need be.
It remains to be seen what the effects of the strike on Tesla’s operations will be. This will make servicing a car much harder in Sweden, but Tesla has committed to hiring strikebreakers (also known as “scabs”) so that operations can continue smoothly.
Scabs are a common feature of strikes in America, but they’re incredibly rare in Sweden. An IF Metall spokesperson said “that would be crossing all boundaries. That kind of thing happened in Sweden in the 1920s and 30s,” as reported by thelocal.se, an English-language Sweden news site.
There are other third-party auto shops that service Teslas and are not currently covered by the strike. But IF Metall says that it plans to expand the strike to 20 of these third party workshops starting November 3 if Tesla still does not come to the table. These shops would continue work as normal but stop working on Tesla cars specifically.
But that’s not the only way the strike might expand. This morning, the Swedish dockworkers union said that it would stop unloading Tesla cars from ships at four Swedish ports – Malmö, Södertälje, Gothenburg and Trelleborg – if the strike isn’t resolved. That action will start on November 7 if Tesla has still chosen not to come to the table with the union.
Electrek’s Take
We aren’t experts in the history of Swedish labor action, or Swedish labor law, but this seems like quite the misstep by Tesla. It sounds like few people think that Tesla will prevail here, and their refusal to come to the table smacks as either stubbornness, ignorance of Swedish culture, or simply a lack of focus (as some Tesla efforts are wont to fall victim to).
Strikes are generally rare in Sweden. The high levels of collective bargaining coverage and high levels of social welfare in the country, along with pay transparency and a strong social commitment to equality, mean that everyone across all industries is pretty much on the same page when it comes to worker treatment. And when collective bargaining coverage is so high, companies (minus a few of the less-internationally-aware American ones) generally recognize that workers are going to get their way if it comes to blows, so it’s best to just come to the table and negotiate in good faith to begin with.
While 130 workers may sound like a small amount across a whole country, this is not the first time a similar situation has happened in Sweden. In 1995, Toys ‘R’ Us entered Sweden and refused to sign a collective bargaining agreement, and about 80 retail workers decided to strike over it.
That strike spread to delivery workers, warehouses, banks, advertisers, even garbage collectors who all refused to do business with Toys ‘R’ Us, and word continued to spread to consumers and workers in Sweden and across Europe to avoid shopping there. While Toys ‘R’ Us had previously had a global policy not to sign collective bargaining agreements, they ended up relenting to this strike in Sweden. So it doesn’t sound like the right country to mess with in this respect.
As for a personal anecdote: I have some Swedish friends who came to visit me in America on vacation in their early 20s. One of them worked an entry-level job at a sporting goods store, and yet was able to afford a 6-week paid vacation to Hawaii, California and Florida, with no trouble or pushback from her job. They were still doing their best to not overspend on the trip, but getting 6 paid weeks off an entry level job to travel to expensive tourist destinations is the kind of thing that Americans just generally cannot even conceive of doing in this day and age, unless subsidized by their parents.
And yet, despite all the warnings we hear in America about how companies can’t possibly work with unions or they’ll go out of business, companies are still able to do business in Sweden, and the country still does well economically. After all, they’ve got enough money that ~6% of new car sales are Teslas, and that’s higher than the US average even.
So maybe high collective bargaining coverage, even for retail employees, isn’t all that bad of a thing.
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BMW Motorrad’s futuristic electric scooter just got its first real refresh since beginning production in 2021. The BMW CE 04, already one of the most capable and stylish electric maxi-scooters on the market, now gets a set of upgraded trim options, new aesthetic touches, and a more robust list of features that aim to make this urban commuter even more appealing to riders looking for serious electric performance on two wheels.
The BMW CE 04 has always stood out for its sci-fi styling and high-performance drivetrain. It’s built on a mid-mounted liquid-cooled motor that puts out 31 kW (42 hp) and 62 Nm of torque. That’s enough to rocket the scooter from 0 to 50 km/h (31 mph) in just 2.6 seconds – quite fast for anything with a step-through frame.
The top speed is electronically limited to 120 km/h (75 mph), making it perfectly capable for city riding and fast enough to hold its own on highway stretches. Range is rated at 130 km (81 miles) on the WMTC cycle, thanks to the 8.9 kWh battery pack tucked low in the frame.
But while the core performance hasn’t changed, BMW’s 2025 update focuses on refining the package and giving riders more options to tailor the scooter to their taste. The new CE 04 is available in three trims: Basic, Avantgarde, and Exclusive.
The Basic trim keeps things clean and classic with a Lightwhite paint scheme and a clear windshield. It’s subtle, sleek, and very much in line with the CE 04’s clean-lined aesthetic. The Avantgarde model adds a splash of color with a Gravity Blue main body and bright São Paulo Yellow accents, along with a dark windshield and a laser-engraved rim. The top-shelf Exclusive trim is where things get fancy, with a premium Spacesilver metallic paint job, upgraded wind protection, heated grips, a luxury embroidered seat, and its own unique engraved rim treatment.
There are also a few new tech upgrades baked into the options list. Riders can now spec a 6.9 kW quick charger that reduces the 0–80% charge time to just 45 minutes (down from nearly 4 hours with the standard 2.3 kW onboard charger). Tire pressure monitoring, a center stand, and BMW’s “Headlight Pro” adaptive lighting system are also available as add-ons, along with an emergency eCall system and Dynamic Traction Control.
BMW has kept the core riding components in place: a steel-tube chassis, 15-inch wheels, Bosch ABS (with optional ABS Pro), and the impressive 10.25” TFT display with integrated navigation and smartphone connectivity. The under-seat storage still swallows a full-face helmet, and the long, low frame design means the scooter looks like something out of Blade Runner but rides like a luxury commuter.
With these updates, BMW seems to be further cementing the CE 04’s role at the high end of the electric scooter market. It’s not cheap, starting around €12,000 in Europe and around US $12,500 in the US, with prices going up from there depending on configuration. However, the maxi-scooter delivers real motorcycle-grade performance in a package that’s easier to live with for daily riders.
Electrek’s Take
I believe that the CE 04’s biggest strength has always been that it’s not trying to be a toy or a gimmick. It’s a real vehicle. Sure, it’s futuristic and funky looking, but it delivers on its promises. And in a market that’s still surprisingly sparse when it comes to premium electric scooters, BMW has had the lane mostly to itself. That may not last forever, though. LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric spin-off brand, has teased plans for a maxi-scooter-style urban electric vehicle in the coming years, but as of now, it remains something of an undefined future plan.
Meanwhile, BMW is delivering not just a concept bike but a mature, well-equipped, and ready-to-ride electric scooter that keeps improving. For riders who want something faster and more capable than a Class 3 e-bike but aren’t ready to jump to a full-size electric motorcycle, the CE 04 hits a sweet spot. It delivers the performance and capability of a commuter e-motorcycle, yet with the approachability of a scooter. And with these new trims and upgrades, it’s doing it with even more style.
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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.
Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!
I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!
Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.
To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.
Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!
Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.
The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.
The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!
I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.
That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.
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