A battle in Germany is brewing over the EV market. Volkswagen ($VWAGY@US) CEO Herbert Diess is trying to defuse tensions with workers who believe that the auto giant cannot keep up with competitors like Tesla ($TSLA@US). The main issue is a transition to EVs at the automaker’s primary factory in Wolfsburg. Previously, Diess said that VW would need to shed about 30,000 jobs if it wanted to compete on the EV market or make a transition to mostly-electric vehicles—an assertion that was met with a strong rebuke by the workforce. In short, workers believe Diess is obsessed with Elon Musk. Workers in Wolfsburg met with Diess on Thursday, where he said, in part, “I’m being frequently asked why I keep comparing us with Tesla. I know this is annoying to some. Even if I no longer talk about Elon Musk: he’ll still be there and [revolutionizing] our industry and [keep] getting more competitive quickly.” For its part, Tesla is moving into VW’s territory, planning a factory in Gruenheide outside Berlin. Sources close to the situation said that a special committee has been brought together to discuss the future of Diess as the leader of VW. VW stock rose over 1 and a half percent in early trading while Tesla stock rose almost 2%.
