French schools once prized the nutritional value of wine and it was commonly served to children until in 1956 the government banned wine in school canteens—and even then, only for the under-14s.
In 2022 roughly 10% of French people drank wine every day, down from half in 1980. Back in 1960 the French drank an average of 116 litres of everyday wine per person. Between 2000 and 2018 that shrank from 28 litres to just 17.
What is going on? It is not simply price. A bottle of Bordeaux can still be found in a French supermarket for under €3 ($3.25). Some village co-operatives sell local produce for €1.90 a litre—less than fresh orange juice. A better explanation is that a beer-drinking trend is challenging Mediterranean habits. The French now tell polls that they prefer beer to wine. Beer accounts for more than half of all alcohol bought in French supermarkets. Even in southern France, some cafés serve imported Belgian or German beer on tap.
Most important, a health-conscious younger generation is drinking less. A quarter of French 18- to 34-year-olds say they never drink alcohol. Fully 39% of under-35s say that they do not drink wine, next to only 27% of the over-50s.
Additionally, no- and low-alcohol drinks are spreading.
Less booze may improve health, but not necessarily the mood or landscapes of rural France. ■
A recent
study by a market intelligence firm Caliber found that fewer people in the
United States are considering buying a Tesla car.
One
reason for this is the behavior of Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, who some people
find controversial.
The
study showed that people’s interest in buying a Tesla car decreased from
November 2021 to February 2024. At the same time, people’s interest in buying
cars from traditional companies like Mercedes, BMW, and Audi slightly
increased.
The
study also found that most Americans connect Tesla’s reputationwith Elon Musk.
Marketing
experts say that Musk’s political beliefs and public statements are
affecting Tesla’s brand and demand. Additionally, economic worries and
competition from other companies like BYD from China are also putting pressure
on Tesla.
Tesla sales fell sharply during the first quarter. The company
delivered 386,810 vehicles from January through March, nearly 9% below the
423,000 it sold in the same quarter of last year.
On
Sunday, close to midnight, Elon Musk sent Tesla employees a memo
saying there was a duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas.
Workers who were impacted by the layoffs received an email to their personal
accounts, informing them their roles had been eliminated.
On Monday Tesla publicly announced that it is planning to lay off about
a tenth of its workforce as it tries to cut costs. The layoffs will
affect about 14,000 of the 140,473 workers employed by the Austin, Texas,
company.
Also Monday, two key Tesla executives announced on the social media
platform X that they will leave the company.
Rohan Patel, senior global director of public policy and business
development, wrote on X that he was leaving Tesla, after eight years.
Andrew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and energy
engineering, made the decision to leave after 18 years with the company.
Baglino, who held several top engineering jobs at the company and was
chief technology officer, wrote that the decision to leave was difficult. “I
loved tackling nearly every problem we solved as a team and feel gratified to
have contributed to the mission of accelerating the transition to sustainable
energy,” he wrote.
Shares of Tesla fell 4.8% Monday afternoon, hours after news of the
layoffs and departures broke.
This is the full memo Elon Musk sent Tesla employees:
Over the years, we have grown rapidly with multiple factories scaling around the globe. With this rapid growth there has been duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas. As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity.
As part of this effort, we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10% globally. There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done. This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle.
I would like to thank everyone who is departing Tesla for their hard work over the years. I'm deeply grateful for your many contributions to our mission and we wish you well in your future opportunities. It is very difficult to say goodbye.
For those remaining, I would like to thank you in advance for the difficult job that remains ahead. We are developing some of the most revolutionary technologies in auto, energy and artificial intelligence. As we prepare the company for the next phase of growth, your resolve will make a huge difference in getting us there.
