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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Trump’s crypto-frenzied inauguration weekend makes first family billions of dollars richer
Snoop Dogg was the lead act at the first-ever Crypto Inaugural Ball held in Washington on Friday evening
MacKenzie Sigalos
As the crypto industry celebrates the arrival of a new administration in Washington, D.C., nobody is taking quicker advantage of the coming changes than the person leading the charge: President Donald J. Trump.
On Friday night, crypto A-listers rubbed elbows with political elites and members of Trump’s inner circle at the Crypto Ball, held at the opulent Mellon Auditorium, just down the street from the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump’s net worth was about to explode from an asset that, up to that point, didn’t exist. The same night of the party, the incoming president launched $TRUMP, a meme coin built on the Solana platform. Its market cap over the weekend climbed past $14 billion. Like with other meme coins, there’s no underlying product. Trump told his followers in a social media post, “It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!”
The website for $TRUMP says 80% of the coins are held by the Trump Organization and affiliates.
Inside the Crypto Ball were some of the leaders of the platforms allowing ordinary investors to buy into Trump’s newest project. They included Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell.
Trump wasn’t done after one token.
On Sunday came the introduction of $MELANIA, named after the first lady. The coin quickly spiked more than 40%, surpassing $2 billion in value. Both the Trump and Melania coins have dropped significantly from their highs.
Then there’s World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance project endorsed by the Trump family, which hiked its token price from 1.5 cents to 5 cents and released an additional 5 billion tokens for sale. The project, initially launched in September, has raised more than $300 million in total sales so far, according to blockchain firm Arkham Intelligence.
The Trump family gets 75% of World Liberty’s crypto coin revenue, according to the project’s founding document. On-chain data shows millions of dollars worth of token transfers to Coinbase’s institutional custody provider.
“We’re making routine movements of our crypto holdings as part of regular treasury management, payment of fees and expenses, and to address working capital requirements,” World Liberty said in a statement.
CNBC reached out to Donald and Melania Trump earlier Monday and didn’t receive a response.
‘Reign of terror’
In the period of 48 hours, the Trump family’s net worth surged by billions of dollars, based on holdings of its just-launched digital assets, underscoring the unregulated nature of cryptocurrencies and the president’s ability to use his fame, power and newfound partnership with the nascent industry to enrich himself, his family and his allies at the flip of a switch.
Broader market enthusiasm has been expressed in the price of bitcoin, which surged to an all-time high hours before the inauguration to nearly $110,000. Crypto industry leaders and investors emerged as some of Trump’s biggest supporters in the campaign in an effort to influence future policies and to ease the restrictive regulations imposed during the Biden administration. In July, Trump delivered the keynote at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
Digital asset entrepreneurs, politicians, and members of Trump’s inner circle hit the red carpet at the first-ever Crypto Inaugural Ball in Washington on Friday.
MacKenzie Sigalos
“The reign of terror against crypto is over,” David Sacks, a prominent Silicon Valley investor and the new White House AI and crypto czar, told the packed D.C. ballroom on Friday night. His comments were met with applause that echoed beneath the Mellon Auditorium’s soaring columns.
Sacks, an earlier Trump critic who said the events of Jan. 6, 2021, had “disqualified” him from being a candidate at the national level, threw his weight behind Trump last year. He hosted a high-profile fundraiser at his San Francisco mansion in June and regularly promoted the Republican candidate on the popular “All-In” podcast.
“The beginning of innovation in America for crypto has just begun,” Sacks added on Friday.
On X, formerly Twitter, conversations were lighting up about the new $TRUMP coin. There was plenty of skepticism from those in and around the industry.
“Trump needs to fire his crypto advisors, from top to bottom and replace with people who know what they are doing,” wrote Gabor Gurbacs, founder of digital asset firm Pointsville, in a post on X. “The memecoins cost the US, the presidency and his family a lot of credibility and the consequences haven’t even started.”
Mark Cuban, the billionaire former tech entrepreneur and part owner of the Dallas Mavericks, commented on the apparent lawlessness of it all. Cuban, a longtime independent who became a vocal supporter of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, said the coins are particularly harmful to the crypto industry in its effort to prove its legitimacy.
“Hello every scam targeted at everyone and anyone who has no clue about crypto,” he wrote.
But at the pre-inauguration party, Trump’s new coin wasn’t much of a topic. Rather, the chatter centered on the broader implications of Trump’s policies, which promised to dismantle years of regulatory gridlock in the Biden administration.
“Two years ago, everyone thought crypto was dead,” said one attendee who asked not to be named in order to speak candidly on the topic. “A year ago, we were begging for help, and this weekend, we’re on top of the world.”
Crypto firms made substantial contributions to Trump’s inaugural fund, signaling their enthusiasm. Ripple donated $5 million in digital tokens, while Coinbase, Kraken, and Circle each gave $1 million. Online brokerage Robinhood contributed $2 million.
Inside the first-ever Crypto Ball at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington ahead of the Donald Trump Inauguration.
MacKenzie Sigalos
Coinbase and Kraken have both been battling the SEC in court. Robinhood received a Wells Notice in May related to its U.S. crypto business, which is typically one of the final steps before the SEC issues formal charges. Ripple has been in a years-long legal fight with SEC and outgoing Chairman Gary Gensler.
“The question now is, what do we do with this momentum?” said Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty, who attended the Friday night festivities. “How do we take that momentum and move forward to really create the promise that I think this new administration has of making the U.S. the crypto capital of the world?”
Alderoty wants to see a coalition formed to discuss unified policy priorities.
“Ultimately, Congress will own the policy, and we can’t dictate to Congress what the policy should be,” Alderoty said. “It would be great if, ahead of that, in the face of the most crypto-friendly Congress we’ve ever had, there could be some alignment on what the priorities are,” Alderoty said, noting that the industry has splintered in the past when proposals have been introduced.
Inside the Crypto Ball
There was a hefty dose of lawmaker support at the party, all from the Republican side of the aisle. House Speaker Mike Johnson was there, along with Senators Marsha Blackburn, Ted Cruz and Cynthia Lummis. Former House members French Hill and Patrick McHenry arrived to show their support.
Cleanspark CEO Zach Bradford, who has been meeting with Trump in private roundtables to discuss bitcoin mining, said he spoke with Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick to be Secretary of Commerce, at the event.
“We talked about bitcoin mining and how bitcoin, but also bitcoin mining, can be a central point of commerce,” Bradford told CNBC.
Bradford said he emphasized to Lutnick the potential for bitcoin mining to be a significant economic driver.
“It’s a positive revenue generator from a net production perspective,” Bradford said. “But we’re also contributing significant tax revenues for the states where we operate.”
Bradford said Lutnick is “excited about it,” describing him as “somebody that gets bitcoin.”
Scott Bessent, likely to be the next Treasury secretary, made his way through the main floor of the ballroom and took photos with attendees.
Koh Harada, COO of Aleo, a privacy-focused blockchain, said Bessent was “pretty coy about things, but the fact that he was even there was very interesting.”
Aleo, which has raised over $200 million from investors including SoftBank and Andreessen Horowitz, chose to establish in the U.S. while many rivals opted to launch from offshore jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands as a shield from various regulations.
“We didn’t set up shop in the U.S. on a whim,” Harada said. In talking to a mix of legal and compliance experts, the company realized that “America is the best fertilizer for tech — period,” he said.
Aleo, which combines privacy-focused functionality with smart contract capabilities, has become a go-to resource for other startups looking to return to the U.S., Harada added. The company picked Wyoming, a state known for its crypto-friendly policies.
“Wyoming stood out as the most welcoming state for crypto,” Harada said. “They’ve created forward-thinking policies and are even establishing blockchain research centers at the University of Wyoming.”
It was the side conversations in the MAGA Inc. VIP Reception greenroom where the most significant exchanges of the evening unfolded.
MacKenzie Sigalos
Also in attendance on Friday was MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor, wearing his trademark orange bow tie, a nod to bitcoin’s iconic color. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and top execs at Coinbase, including global policy head Faryar Shirzad, mingled with guests.
The Winklevoss twins chatted in a group that included Chris Dixon of Andreessen Horowitz and his colleague, Sriram Krishnan, who recently left his role as a general partner at the firm to join Sacks’ task force. Bo Hines, Trump’s choice to lead the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, was also present. He’ll report directly to Sacks.
While Snoop Dogg performed in the main ballroom, venture capitalist Katie Haun was engrossed in conversation with Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz. Other musical guests Rick Ross and Soulja Boy, who was charged by the SEC in 2023 for illegally promoting a crypto token without disclosing he was paid, kept the larger crowd entertained.
Guests were issued wristbands based on status. Black wristbands signified general admission and gold allowed entry to a VIP balcony. White bands granted the most exclusive perks. General admission cost $2,500, and some sponsors paid $1 million for access to the greenroom on the ground floor tucked behind the stage in the main ballroom.
Tightly guarded by security, Donald Trump Jr. donned custom MAGA buttons on his shirt as he swiftly made his way into the innermost chamber of the VIP section, a room barricaded by a rotating bouncer and only allowing in certain guests. Along with Sacks, and Speaker Johnson, he could be seen conversing with Fred Thiel, CEO of mining company MARA Holdings.
Thiel shared details of a blockchain initiative his company had launched earlier that day with Johnson, an effort designed to symbolize the intersection of crypto and politics.
“We minted a block on the blockchain with a portrait of President Trump, created entirely from transactions,” Thiel said.
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, with Mara CEO Fred Thiel. Johnson seen texting President Donald Trump a photo of the Trump47 bitcoin block minted by Mara earlier that day.
Fred Thiel
The so-called Trump47 block embedded Trump’s headshot into the Bitcoin blockchain, creating a lasting digital tribute to the president.
“We released it Friday morning, and it went viral,” Thiel said. He added that Johnson “was so impressed” that he texted Trump a picture of it.
Tracy Hoyos-López, a former California prosecutor and one of the people credited with turning Trump pro-bitcoin, was also at the event.
“Don’t mess with crypto,” Hoyos-López, who helped to plan the evening’s celebration, told CNBC while Snoop Dogg was performing his live set. “Our event is a symbol of who we are in the world.”
WATCH: Bitcoin surges past $100,000
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Hyundai launches new Creta Electric SUV in India, starting at just $20,000: Meet the new EV
Hyundai officially launched its newest electric vehicle, the Creta Electric, in India. It starts at just over $20,000 and has a range of nearly 300 miles. The Creta EV is Hyundai’s first electric SUV made in the country. Here’s a look at the new model.
Hyundai reveals Creta EV prices start at $20,000
Since it hit the market in 2015, the Hyundai Creta has been a massive success for the company in India. The SUV led Hyundai India to another record sales year, with 186,919 models sold in 2024.
Hyundai sold a record 605,433 vehicles in India last year, up from 602,111 in 2023. Including exports, Hyundai India sold 764,119 vehicles in 2024.
“Achieving highest ever domestic sales three years in a row, reflects customers’ preference for brand Hyundai as their trusted smart mobility solutions provider,” Hyundai India’s COO, Mr Tarun Garg, said earlier this month.
The Creta was the company’s main growth driver, accounting for over 30% of sales. With its highest yearly sales since launching, “CRETA continued to strengthen HMIL’s position as an SUV leader, helping HMIL accomplish its highest-ever domestic SUV contribution of 67.6% in CY 2024,” he added.
Now, Hyundai’s top-selling SUV in India is going electric. Earlier this month, Hyundai unveiled the electric SUV for the first time. On Friday, at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo, Hyundai launched the Creta EV, which starts at just Rs 17.99 Lakh, or just over $20,000.
It’s available in four trims: Executive, Smart, Premium, and Excellence. The most expensive Excellence trim starts at Rs 23.50 lakh, or about $27,200. In comparison, the gas-powered SUV starts at around $12,800 (Rs 10.99 LAkh).
Buyers can choose from two battery packs, 42 kWh and 51.4 kWh, offering a driving range of 390 km (242 miles) and 473 km (294 miles) in India.
Hyundai is confident that the Creta EV “will further expand the appeal of this Undisputed, Ultimate SUV,” Mr Tarun Garg said.
Hyundai plans to launch five new EVs in India by 2030, including the new Creta. To meet the growing demand in the region, it’s also planning to launch three-wheel electric cars.
Although Hyundai is not launching the Creta EV in the US, the company is introducing a series of new and upgraded electric models this year. The 2025 IONIQ 5 now features more driving range and comes with an NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers. Meanwhile, Hyundai’s first three-row electric SUV, the EV9, will arrive shortly.
Would you buy the Hyundai Creta EV for around $20,000? Let us know in the comments below.
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