Tesla Loses Even More Ground In China

Happy Monday! It’s November 10, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you’ll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.

In this morning’s edition, we’re looking at Tesla’s sales figures in China, as well as the end of the short-lived Nexperia chip shortage. We’ll also look at Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s new pay package, and the latest big-name departure from Tesla. 

China’s electric car market is pretty cutthroat these days, and Tesla has been facing an uphill battle against its aging vehicles and politically divisive CEO. This all came together in October, when Tesla’s sales in China dropped to their lowest numbers in years. From Reuters:

Tesla’s sales in China dropped to 26,006 vehicles in October, their lowest in three years, as the U.S. electric vehicle maker struggles with tepid demand in the hyper-competitive market.

Sales fell 35.8% from a year earlier, down from September’s figure of 71,525 when Tesla began deliveries of the Model Y L, a longer-wheelbase and six-seat version of its best-selling Model Y SUV until now only available in China.

Those big Tesla issues — the aging lineup, the CEO whose politics alienate the core audience for electric vehicles — shouldn’t be difficult for such a massive company with such a staggering market cap to solve. Unfortunately for Tesla, booting Elon would also tank that market cap back down to something that actually befits a niche automaker with declining sales. Not a great position to be in, if you’re the board. 

Another chip shortage has held up auto production globally, forcing automakers to idle supply lines or scramble for substitutes, thanks to a dispute between the Netherlands and China. Now, as quickly as it started, it seems that shortage could be ending. China is allowing chips from Nexperia to flow once again, and carmakers are thankful. From Automotive News:

China has granted exemptions to export controls on Nexperia chips for civilian applications, the commerce ministry said Nov. 9 in a move that will help to relieve supply shortages for carmakers and automotive suppliers.

The announcement is the strongest signal yet from Beijing that it will ease pressure on the global auto industry caused by export curbs imposed after the Dutch government took control of Nexperia, a large manufacturer of basic chips used in automotive electrical systems.

…

China’s commerce ministry did not specify what it considered to be civilian use, but the announcement follows statements from German and Japanese companies saying that deliveries of Nexperia’s Chinese-made chips had resumed.

Honda already cut its 2025 profit estimates based on this chip shortage, and other companies have had their production impacted. Hopefully things get back to normal soon. 

CEOs around the world seem to be learning from Elon Musk — or at least his exorbitant pay packages tied to company performance. Now Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe is getting in on the trend, with a pay package that could pay out $4.6 billion. From Reuters:

Electric pickup and SUV maker Rivian said on Friday it was giving its CEO a pay plan worth as much as $4.6 billion over the next decade, a deal similar to Tesla’s record package for CEO Elon Musk, and linked to new profit targets and lower share price milestones than a previous deal.

The move by the Rivian board shows that the Tesla plan for Musk could become a model for companies aiming to grow fast. Rivian’s pay package for its CEO RJ Scaringe could be one of the richest in history, depending on what performance goals are met.

Rivian said the plan will retain its founder and keep him focused on growth and profitability as the automaker, known for its R1S SUVs and R1T pickups, gears up to launch next year its smaller, more affordable R2 SUV that will compete with Tesla’s best-selling Model Y crossover.

The Rivian plan replaces one that the board said was not likely to be met, with the fresh plan having lower goals in terms of share growth.

I’m a fan of Rivian, and I want the company to stick around and keep producing cars well into the future. I wonder, though, if it can afford compensation deals like this. 

Tesla has been bleeding talent recently, and its latest loss is a big one: The head of Cybertruck development, Siddhant Awasthi. He also worked on the Model 3 line, both before and after the launch of the Cybertruck, but now he’s gone to greener pastures. From Bloomberg:

Tesla Inc.’s head of the Cybertruck program is leaving the company, adding to a series of high-level departures this year as the electric-vehicle maker struggles with uneven sales.

Siddhant Awasthi, who oversaw the development and ramp-up of the divisive pickup truck, is departing Tesla after three years in that role, he said in a post on LinkedIn.

«This decision wasn’t easy, especially with so much exciting growth on the horizon,» Awasthi wrote. He didn’t specify what he’ll do next.

His decision follows a string of executive exits at Tesla, which has grappled with lukewarm consumer demand and the loss of key US incentives while pursuing new business lines around robotaxis and humanoid robots. David Lau, Tesla’s vice president of software engineering, this year left for OpenAI after almost 13 years.

Awasthi had been at Tesla for nearly a decade, starting in 2017, which is a long time for anyone to stay at any company. Still, he’s not the only higher-up at the company to leave recently, as the underlying car sales have gotten less and less sound. This is what we in the business call a «bad sign.» 

Fifty years of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

I was talking with my roommates about Flyleaf last night, and they’d never heard of the band. I figured everyone knew Flyleaf around 2010, but I guess I was wrong. If you’re also not familiar with this somehow-Christian band, welcome to today’s lucky 10,000.