The auto industry was just as horrified by the coup as everyone else

Yesterday was bad, Elon Musk may soon be the richest man in the world on paper and rhodium. All this and more in The morning shift for January 7, 2021.

I would say yesterday was one of the stupidest days in American history, but everyone has said that. Anyway, this is too much credit for a bunch of nobody. Keep calm and the car, as they say.

1st gear: Auto People React

GM CEO Mary Barra tweeted:

Ford CEO Jim Farley also tweeted:

The U.S. Michigan East District Attorney (who sued the UAW corruption scandal) also tweeted:

UAW President Rory Gamble made a statement:

The National Manufacturers Association also weighed in, because everyone was waiting for what the National Manufacturers Association had to say:

Soon, all of this will be a distant memory, and you have the feeling that it would always end like this, with a cheap and meaningless crime that temporarily delayed adults in fulfilling their duties. Four people have now been reported dead.

2nd gear: car sales are bad in Europe

The reason is the pandemic. In addition to a bunch of nobody invading the Capitol, we still have the pandemic to worry about.

In Bloomberg:

Records fell by about 25% last year in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain, Europe’s five largest auto-buying countries, according to industry associations and transport ministries. The resurgence of Covid-19 has prompted several governments to re-implement blocking measures that are likely to drag demand through early 2021.

Germany’s new car registrations fell by about 20% in 2020, based on preliminary data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, which will publish detailed figures on Friday. Figures released earlier this week showed that sales plunged 32% in Spain, 29% in the UK, 28% in Italy and 25% in France. The UK auto industry trade group said the country’s decline was the worst since 1943.

The data show the overwhelming impact that the coronavirus had on Europe’s auto industry last year compared to China and the United States, where car buying was more resilient. The continued weakness in demand poses a risk to the euro area economy, which relied heavily on the manufacturing sector to stage a recovery in the second half of last year.

“We are in a deep crisis,” Pierre-Louis Debar, head of statistics for the French auto industry group CCFA, said in an interview. “It’s more extensive than anything we’ve seen in the past.”

3rd gear: rhodium? Rhodium!

Rhodium is used in catalytic converters and many countries are concerned with cleaning the air today. This caused the price of rhodium to skyrocket.

In The Financial Times:

Automakers in Europe and China are using more and more rhodium to comply with stricter fresh air legislation, while supplies from South Africa, the largest producer, were interrupted by the spread of Covid-19.

Aided by the economic recovery in China, the world’s largest auto market, reference prices for rhodium reached a record high of $ 17,790 an ounce, an increase of more than 200 percent since the low of March 2020. That means that a kilo of rhodium is worth almost half a million pounds.

“There is a massive metal rush” by automakers, said Nicholas Hops, co-manager of the Coronation Resources Fund. “If you don’t have enough rhodium, you won’t be able to comply with emissions legislation and we know how draconian these fines are.”

4th gear: Elon Musk

Tesla’s value on paper is huge, or more than $ 700 billion. Ford’s value, for contextual purposes, is about $ 34 billion. On paper, Tesla’s value has CEO Elon Musk almost the richest person in the world.

In Bloomberg:

A 2.8% rise in the electric car maker’s share price on Wednesday raised Musk to about $ 3 billion compared to Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, who currently ranks first on the Bloomberg Index Billionaires, a ranking of the 500 richest people in the world.

The net worth of the South African-born engineer was $ 181.1 billion on Wednesday, just before Bezos, who ranks first since October 2017. As CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, Musk is also rival to Bezos, owner of Blue Origin LLC, in the private space race.

The milestone closes an extraordinary 12 months for Musk. Last year, its net worth soared by more than $ 150 billion, possibly in the fastest wealth creation spurt in history. Fueling its rise was an unprecedented rebound in Tesla’s stock price, which rose 743% last year due to consistent profits, inclusion in the S&P 500 Index and enthusiasm from Wall Street and similar retail investors.

Elon’s payment is largely tied up in stock that and may or may not materialize, depending on Tesla’s future. But it is always good to be the best of something.

5th gear: Y model sales in China are big

There are waiting times for the car, which basically met expectations in terms of sales. The expectations were enormous.

In Bloomberg:

A basic version of the electric vehicle purchased will now be delivered in the second quarter, and a performance variant in the third quarter, Tesla’s website showed. When Tesla announced the price last week and started selling, it said deliveries would take place this month.

A strong start for the vehicle would be a blessing for Tesla as it seeks to maintain its leadership in the premium segment over rivals like Nio Inc. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said the Model Y has the potential to sell more than all other vehicles it manufactures, and the company has set the price of the vehicle below some other brands to maintain a competitive advantage.

“Based on order entry and our production plan, we adjusted the delivery time for Model Y of the most recent orders for the second quarter,” said a Tesla representative on Thursday via WeChat.

Reverse: Balloon? Balloon!