Tesla Sweden strike update: Tesla comments, sympathy strikes expand
Tesla service workers in Sweden are on strike, and Tesla commented publicly on the strike for the first time as sympathy strikes expand to shipping, cleaning and electrical workers.
Late last month, Tesla service workers in Sweden threatened to strike over the lack of a collective bargaining agreement covering their working conditions. After getting no response from Tesla, the strike began almost two weeks ago.
Tesla does not have any manufacturing presence in Sweden, but since EVs are very popular in Sweden with about a 60% share of the new car market, there are certainly plenty of Teslas that need to be serviced.
But those Tesla service workers are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, unlike 90% of Swedish employees. And IF Metall, a major union covering hundreds of thousands of industrial workers across Sweden, says that’s a problem. So it is leading a strike against the company.
The strike is relatively small, covering about 130 workers in 7 locations. 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.
While 130 workers may sound like a small amount across a whole country, Sweden saw a similarly-small strike when Toys ‘R’ Us entered Sweden and refused to sign a collective bargaining agreement. About 80 retail workers decided to strike, and that strike spread to many other industries until Toys ‘R’ Us was forced to relent, making Sweden the only territory in the world where the company signed a collective bargaining agreement.
Because of near-universal collective bargaining coverage and a history of worker victories, strikes are relatively rare in Sweden. Companies know that it’s better just to come to the table rather than to let negotiations reach strike conditions.
So Sweden has a strong history with enforcing “the Swedish model” of labor, how is it going with Tesla, just a couple weeks in?
Is work stopped, or not?
The question of how effective the strike has been so far is still an open one. On the one hand, on the day the strike began, Tesla Club Sweden suggested that nobody showed up after visiting a single service center near Stockholm and talking to some of the employees there.
On the other hand, Dagens Arbete, a Swedish labor newspaper, reported on several locations and said that some of them have seen significant strike action and some have not. For example, nobody is on strike in Norrköping but almost everyone is in Umeå. And picketers were confronted by “an English-speaking man” in Malmö, who said he would call the police if they stepped out of line. And IF Metall says there has been “strong support” for the strike from workers.
Tesla committed to hiring strikebreakers, also known as “scabs,” and there have been reports of unidentified mechanics showing up in taxis in certain locations, which could suggest new hires, or that Tesla is shuffling remaining employees from one location to another. IF Metall says that hiring strikebreakers “would be crossing all boundaries. That kind of thing happened in Sweden in the 1920s and 30s.”
Tesla responds, negotiations begin
IF Metall sat down with Tesla on November 1 and November 6 for discussions. IF Metall says the November 1 meeting was constructive, but Monday’s discussion yielded nothing according to Vali-Pekka Säikkälä from IF Metall. He said “We are clear, there will be no agreement.”
After the second meeting, Tesla issued a public statement on the strike for the first time – a rare event for Tesla, which generally does not make public comments given that it does not have a PR/communications department (though it is more common for Tesla to make comment in other countries).
In TT, the Swedish national wire service, a Tesla representative was quoted thusly:
It is unfortunate that IF Metall has taken these measures. Tesla follows Swedish labor market regulations, but like many other companies has chosen not to enter into a collective agreement. We already offer equivalent or better agreements than those covered by collective bargaining and find no reason to sign any other agreement
But strikers say the issue is less about benefits such as pay, and more about working conditions and stability. Some Tesla employees say that timelines are far too strict for repairs, leading Tesla to send out damaged cars and rewarding employees who do incomplete work, while punishing those who take the time to completely solve a problem.
Strike expands to dockworkers, cleaners, third-party shops
Today, the strike expanded to dockworkers. The Swedish Dockworkers union said that if the strike was not resolved by November 7th, it would stop unloading vehicles in four Swedish ports, and the deadline for that began today. So Tesla will no longer be able to ship to Malmö, Södertälje, Gothenburg and Trelleborg.
But it was reported this week by SVT that Tesla is said to have rearranged its car transports around the affected ports. Typically one ship a week enters the port at Södertälje, for example, but there are no transports expected from the car brand according to the CEO of the port.
And so the dockworkers union has decided to expand its work stoppage across all ports, rather than just the four previously listed. Dockworkers will continue to unload docks across the country, but will not unload Tesla cars, starting November 17th.
In addition, Fastighets, the Swedish building maintenance workers’ union, said it will join the strike at Tesla facilities in Huddinge, Segeltorp, Umeå and Upplands Väsby on the same date, November 17th. This means that these facilities will not be cleaned by union workers starting on that date.
When Tesla consistently refuses to sign a collective agreement, it poses a threat to the stability of the Swedish labor market. Everyone who works in Sweden must be covered by Swedish wages and Swedish conditions
Joakim Oscarsson, Fastighets, in a comment to SVT
The strike has expanded to third-party repair shops as well, with 17 additional shops across the country refusing to work on Tesla vehicles. SVT attempted to interview one of these shops in Gothenburg, which responded “we have decided not to participate in media contexts during this conflict and during ongoing negotiations as we are not a party to the primary conflict.”
And Elektrikerna, the Swedish electricians’ union, will also refuse to do electrical work at Tesla’s workshops and charging stations, starting November 15. Other unions that are part of LO, Sweden’s Trade Union Confederation, may join as time goes on.
Electrek’s Take
As is the case in a necessarily oppositional conflict like this, there are a lot of competing voices for what is or is not happening in the strike.
And as I’ve stated before in strike-related articles, personally, I’m pro-union. And I think that everyone should be – it only makes sense that people should have their interests collectively represented, and that people should be able to join together to support each other and exercise their power collectively, instead of individually.
This is precisely what companies do with industry organizations, lobby organizations, chambers of commerce, and so on. And it’s what people do when sorting themselves into local, state, or national governments. So naturally, workers should do the same.
We’ve seen it work in the US, where UAW just recently won big gains with its unprecedented strike against all three of the largest American automakers, and this ended up being a boon for other workers as well when Toyota raised wages immediately after the strike was resolved.
It seems to be a success in Sweden, too, where workers typically have high median wages, high levels of life satisfaction and generally good quality of life and good labor protections. These sorts of protections become the standard when 90% of the country is covered by collective bargaining – they’re so standard that Sweden in fact does not have a national minimum wage, since union power is strong enough to ensure that workers get treated well without the force of law getting involved.
And, in our significant experience with Tesla, it is apparent that it is a company that offers good potential gains for workers, but suffers from high turnover and burnout, and plays fast and loose when relating to government regulations. Employees in one Swedish service center say that isn’t the case, at least according to a Tesla fan forum, so maybe it’s different in Sweden. But here in California, Tesla employees universally acknowledge the high turnover – even the ones that have been with the company for a long time themselves.
So I tend to think that the strikers likely have a point – everything I know about Tesla makes the reports of rushed work and tough conditions completely believable. And while Tesla’s “startup mentality” suggests that a scrappy, hardworking approach is the best way to move forward, maybe a company that is now 20 years old and has well over 100k employees could stand to mature a bit, focus on quality and employee retention (aiding institutional memory, which is lacking at Tesla), and play by the rules in a country that has stopped other anti-union companies dead in their tracks before.
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It flies, it floats, it’s electric — and now it’s officially a hit. The world’s first electric hydrofoil ferry, a Candela P-12 vessel named Nova, has wrapped up its first season of public service in Stockholm, and new data confirms what many suspected: this sleek, silent, water-skimming machine isn’t just a cool piece of tech — it’s also wildly successful.
The Nova, which first entered Stockholm’s public transport system last fall, uses a combination of electric propulsion and hydrofoil technology to quite literally lift above the water. This reduces drag, increases efficiency, and makes it the fastest electric passenger vessel in the world, cruising comfortably at 25 knots (around 29 mph or 46 km/h).
As it prepares to return to the water on April 15 after a winter pause, Stockholm’s public transport authority has released performance data from Nova’s autumn run. The numbers reveal that the boat isn’t just fast — it’s popular, green, and pulling people out of their cars.
Compared to the diesel ferries it operates alongside, Nova emits 95% less CO₂ and uses 84% less energy per passenger-kilometer. That translates to just 23 grams of CO₂ per passenger-kilometer, compared to 439 grams for the older diesel vessels. In other words, it’s a drop in a bucket compared to the old standard.
It’s not just an environmental win — it’s a rider favorite too. With 80% average occupancy (and many trips fully booked), Nova has become quite literally one of the hottest tickets on Stockholm’s Route 89. Some of that success may come from its 30-minute travel time between Tappström and Stockholm City Hall — roughly half the time it takes to get there by car or bus.
The numbers are clear with the data revealing that Nova attracts more people to travel on water, with a 30% increase in ridership on route 89. According to Candela CEO Gustav Hasselskog, this shows that high-speed, comfortable waterborne transit can actually convert car commuters into ferry riders — a holy grail for sustainable city planning.
In response to the strong demand, Region Stockholm will expand Nova’s service from five to six days a week this spring, and to daily operations by May. In August, the pilot program will be evaluated — and Candela is already eyeing more routes across Stockholm’s vast archipelago.
The P-12’s combination of speed, silence, and ultra-low operating costs makes it ideal for routes with moderate passenger volume — a gap that many traditional ferries struggle to serve efficiently.
Candela isn’t stopping in Sweden, either. The company already has customers lined up in Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, and the U.S., suggesting that this may be just the beginning of the era of flying electric ferries.
“We are incredibly happy that Region Stockholm has enabled us to demonstrate the hydrofoil technology in the city’s public transport. We see that waterways in most cities have enormous potential for fast, low-cost, and emission-free transport that can relieve road networks and increase accessibility,” said Hasselskog. “This is just the beginning.”
Electrek’s Take
I’ve followed Candela with such interest over the years not just because of their fun electric speedboats (though I love those too, as you can tell from my first ride video below), but also because of the company’s ability to help take more cars off the road and switch commuters to ferry riders.
As someone who lives a largely car-free lifestyle, that’s huge for me. When we talk about reforming urban transportation, such lofty goals require a holistic approach and we should include a diverse field of options that can work together to achieve those intentions. Flying electric boats might not be most people’s first thought, but they achieve the same goal as many other alternatives, shifting commuters to more sustainable alternatives to cars.
We’ve already seen how capable electric hydrofoil ferries like these are, even watching the Candela P-12 tackle large swells in open seas. So short commutes like these that allow rapid recharging via DC Fast Charging at each stop make so much sense for such a capable machine.
Even when compared to traditional electric ferries, which are already an improvement by reducing emissions, electric hydrofoil ferries like these go so much further. They not only use even less energy than a traditional electric ferry, but they offer a faster trip and a smoother ride, making the idea of ferry travel that much more enticing. In this case seen in Stockholm, commuters get to arrive faster, more comfortably, and in a pretty cool way. That’s a win-win-win if you ask me!
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Renewables and nuclear provided 40.9% of the world’s power generation in 2024, passing the 40% mark for the first time since the 1940s, according to a new global energy think tank Ember report.
Renewables added a record 858 TWh in 2024, 49% more than the previous high in 2022. Solar was the largest contributor for the third year running, adding 474 TWh to reach a share of 6.9%. Solar was the fastest-growing power source (+29%) for the 20th year in a row.
Solar has doubled in just three years, providing more than 2,000 TWh of electricity in 2024. Wind generation also grew to 8.1% of global electricity, while hydro – the single largest renewable source – remained steady at 14% of global electricity.
“Solar power has become the engine of the global energy transition,” said Phil MacDonald, Ember’s managing director. “Paired with battery storage, solar is set to be an unstoppable force. As the fastest-growing and largest source of new electricity, it is critical in meeting the world’s ever-increasing demand for electricity.”
Ember’s sixth annual Global Electricity Review, published today, provides the first comprehensive overview of the global power system in 2024 based on country-level data. It’s published alongside the world’s first open dataset on electricity generation in 2024, covering 88 countries that account for 93% of global electricity demand, as well as historical data for 215 countries.
What drove the rising power demand
The analysis finds that fossil fuels also saw a small 1.4% increase in 2024 due to surging electricity demand, pushing global power sector emissions up 1.6% to an all-time high.
Heatwaves were the main driver of the rise in fossil generation, accounting for almost a fifth (+0.7%) of the increase in global electricity demand in 2024 (+4.0%), mainly through additional use of cooling. Without these temperature effects, fossil fuel generation would have risen by only 0.2%, as clean electricity generation met 96% of the demand growth not caused by hotter temperatures.
“Amid the noise, it’s essential to focus on the real signal,” continued MacDonald. “Hotter weather drove the fossil generation increase in 2024, but we’re very unlikely to see a similar jump in 2025.”
Aside from weather effects, the increasing use of electricity for AI, data centers, EVs, and heat pumps is already contributing to global demand growth. Combined, the growing use of these technologies accounted for a 0.7% increase in global electricity demand in 2024, double what they contributed five years ago.
Clean power will grow faster than demand
Ember’s report shows that clean generation growth is set to outpace faster-rising demand in the coming years, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil fuel generation. The current expected growth in clean generation would be sufficient to meet a demand increase of 4.1% per year to 2030, which is above expectations for demand growth.
“The world is watching how technologies like AI and EVs will drive electricity demand,” said MacDonald. “It’s clear that booming solar and wind are comfortably set to deliver, and those expecting fossil fuel generation to keep rising will be disappointed.”
Beyond emerging technologies, the growth trajectories of the world’s largest emerging economies will play a crucial role in defining the global outlook. More than half of the increase in solar generation in 2024 was in China, with its clean generation growth meeting 81% of its demand increase in 2024. India’s solar capacity additions in 2024 doubled compared to 2023. These two countries are at the forefront of the drive to clean power and will help tip the balance toward a decline in fossil generation at a global level.
Professor Xunpeng Shi, president of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS), said: “The future of the global power system is being shaped in Asia, with China and India at the heart of the energy transition. Their increasing reliance on renewables to power demand growth marks a shift that will redefine the global power sector and accelerate the decline of fossil fuels.”
Read more: Made-in-America solar just got a big win in Louisiana
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The next-gen LEAF is almost here, and it’s looking better than ever. This isn’t the electric hatch you are used to seeing. Nissan’s new LEAF EV has more range, a fresh crossover design, and yes, it can finally charge up at Tesla Superchargers with an NACS port. With the official reveal just around the corner, someone already spotted the new LEAF at a Tesla charger in Canada.
Nissan is launching the new LEAF in the US and Canada
A little over a week ago, we finally got our first look at the third-generation LEAF. Nissan’s iconic electric hatch has grown into a “sleek and spacious family-friendly crossover.”
The US and Canada will be the first to see the reimagined LEAF later this year. It will join the Ariya in Nissan’s North American EV lineup as it looks to spark growth in one of its most important markets.
Based on the CMF-EV platform, the same one underpinning the Ariya, Nissan promises the new LEAF will have “significant range improvements.” Although no other details were revealed, Nissan’s vehicle programs chief, Francois Bailly, told TopGear.com that it’s expected to have WLTP driving range of up to 373 miles (600 km).
It will likely be lower on the EPA scale, but anything even close to 300 miles would be a major improvement over the current 212 EPA-estimated miles offered on the 2025 LEAF SV Plus.
The next-gen LEAF will also be Nissan’s first EV to feature an integrated NACS charging port. With its official debut later this year, the new model is out for testing and was just caught testing at a Tesla Supercharger in Canada.
If you didn’t know what vehicle it is, the LEAF is hardly recognizable. The new image from KindelAuto gives us a closer look at the new crossover design. It almost looks like a Tesla sitting in front of the charger.
The new LEAF is one of 10 new and refreshed Nissan vehicles set to launch in the US and Canada. It will arrive later this year, followed by the fourth-gen Rogue in 2026, which will be available as a PHEV for the first time.
Nissan also plans to build a new “adventure-focused SUV” at its Canton, Mississippi, plant in late 2027. The teaser shows what appears to be a rugged electric Xterra. We’ll have to wait for more details on that one.
Nissan will reveal additional info about the upcoming LEAF mid-year. Check back soon for more updates.
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