Tesla abandons several projects

Tesla's ambitious plans to manufacture the chassis of its vehicles in a single piece, a process known as "gigacasting," has been put on hold, according to Reuters. It's another sign that the company is backing away from some of its previously announced plans as it struggles to adjust to weaker sales and lower profits.

Car manufacturers typically assemble a chassis from hundreds of individual parts. But Tesla pioneered the use of huge presses to die-cast large parts with the goal of eventually producing an entire chassis in one piece. The goal was to simplify the process while dramatically reducing production costs.

Tesla has also promoted a unique manufacturing process in which some parts are assembled in dedicated facilities in the factory and then finally assembled into a whole. The process was promised to speed up car production while cutting costs in half.

But now the company has reportedly returned to the manufacturing process it uses for its Model Y cars and Cybertrucks, which have a three-piece chassis.

The less encouraging news is just one more in a long series that we can follow this year. Earlier in the year, Musk warned of slower sales amid increasing competition in the US and China, its two main markets. Since then, the company has laid off more than 10 percent of its global workforce, lost several top executives and reported weaker profits that fell short of even the most dire predictions of some Wall Street analysts.

High hopes were placed on the upcoming affordable Model 2 electric vehicle, which is expected to cost only 25,000 $. But even this project should be canceled for the time being and they should devote themselves entirely to the production of an autonomous robotaxi.