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Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) battle to avoid any sort of unionization in Sweden ramped up to a new level over the last week. Reports indicate that all Tesla shipments (TSLA) arriving by sea are blocked from being unloaded at Swedish ports, and more key suppliers are taking action against the U.S. electric vehicle maker in sympathy with the strike initiated by manufacturers union IF Metall. The growing labor movement against Tesla (TSLA) has also seen the company’s trash bins left uncollected and mail services halted as unions.
Notably, a poll conducted of 120 Swedish companies with fleets of 100 or more company cars said they would pause or completely stop buying Tesla (TSLA) vehicles because of the current conflict over collective bargaining agreements. The issue is also political in Sweden, with center-right government minister Johan Pehrson joining politicians to the left and right in saying Tesla (TSLA) would benefit from joining the Swedish labor market model. The biggest fear from labor organizers is that other major companies may look to follow if Tesla (TSLA) can navigate around the unionization issue. While Sweden is not as big of a market for Tesla (TSLA) as Germany, the UK, or Norway – the Model Y has been a top seller in the nation and EV adoption has been growing.
Tesla (TSLA) is also a target of the United Auto Workers union in the U.S., although industry insiders see those efforts as having little chance of succeeding.
Looking ahead, Tesla (TSLA) is on Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch for the week ahead. The electric vehicle giant will hold an event at the Gigafactory in Austin to mark the first official deliveries of the long-awaited Cybertruck. Tesla (TSLA) is targeting to produce 200,000 Cybertrucks per year, according to CEO Elon Musk. “I can’t emphasize enough that manufacturing is much much harder than the initial design,” noted Musk on the challenges of ramping up production. Shares of Tesla (TSLA) have gained 7% over the last six weeks and the relative strength index on the stock is back over 50.
