03/08/2017 World Business Report

The breakthrough could help eradicate inherited diseases,

but critics fear it could lead to the creation

And now it is time to join Sally Bundock for World Business Report.

Sales surge at Tesla, but can it stay number one

in electric cars as rivals plug into the business?

Plus hard labour for Nissan as workers in Mississippi vote

on the right to form a union after a 14-year battle.

Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. It is good to

have you with us. the Dow closes above 22,000

for the first time. We'll get the latest

from the Asian markets. We start in California

with electric car maker, Investors have been taking a huge

gamble on the company, betting it's the future

of the car industry, and pushing its share

price ever higher. Late last night, we got

its latest set of results, In the three months to the end

of June it made revenues That's well over double what it made

in the same period last year, and way more than Wall

Street was expecting. It's still losing money,

though, over $336 million But it wasn't as much

as investors feared. Some were worried about the speed

Tesla is burning through its cash pile as it builds its position

in the car market, Tesla says it delivered almost

26,000 vehicles over the period, a big jump of 40% on

this time last year. And that number could

soon be a lot higher. it's the company's first real

mass market vehicle. It has taken around half a million

orders and the first cars Tesla hopes the Model

three will keep it here at the top of the

electric car industry. But two Chinese rivals

are already in the top five, Plus the German car giants

are investing heavily as they try to put

"Dieselgate" behind them. One other very interesting fact,

how the design of these cars The Tesla Model three has

less than 7,000 parts. That makes it simpler to build

and less likely to suffer When he spoke to the BBC last year,

Tesla boss Elon Musk predicted his company would

transform the world of transport. I think all transport, with the

exception of rockets, will go fully electric. That's why I see the value

of Tesla as an accelerant, as a catalyst in that transition. I think

Tesla, maybe, when one looks back on it from a historical perspective, it

might accelerate that transition by a decade, maybe more.

I say he has cast a spell over Wall Street and investors. They were

bigger than Ford and GE at one point, but when you look at the

numbers, it is incredible. These numbers that came out overnight show

us they run the right track. That is right. There has been doubts in

terms of delivery which has delayed things in past years. And now, Model

three, the first handover was last week, they want to encourage

investors they are on the right track. They are hoping to be making

25% gross margin next year. He is setting up the more expensive third

models first. Then he wants to increase production. There seems to

be real momentum behind the electric car story. Governments are changing

policy. There is appetite for the cars in the market. Then there is

infrastructure. In terms of that speed, of how this is moving and

changing the industry, what are your thoughts? Last week, the UK said

they want all cars to be electrified by 2040, not only electric, but

hybrid. France said the same thing. Germany were discussing it yesterday

as well. We are going to see a big roll out in the next few years in

terms of every brand, German premiums, the big rivals to Tesla,

and we won't see them in 2019 in the UK. We have the Audi Quatro,

carmakers people inherently trust. At that point, Tesla will have more

competition than it has now. In terms of the outlook for Tesla, but

also in terms of the outlook or the car industry, what is your thinking?

Tesla is definitely pushing the mass-market model now, which he has

to. Most admire it, but we cannot afford it. Tesla has been a

disruptor of this industry. Many people had not even heard of

electric cars when they came out. It has raised the game for the whole

electric car industry. And now we have to look at battery is. Most

cars in the next two years have a 310 mile range. Most people could

live with that. Some on the market today only have 100 miles as a

range. That makes people anxious they cannot get to where they want

to go. Infrastructure is the other thing is that the UK have recently

announced big announcements in infrastructure to aid in that cause.

Thank you. There is more on line. You can find the whole interview as

well. We are also in Canton Mississippi,

where workers at Nissan's factory vote today and tomorrow

on the right to form a union. Ahead of the deadline,

tensions have escalated with the union describing it as "one

of the nastiest anti-union fights" Michelle Fleury reports

from Canton, Mississippi. They have launched this antiunion

campaign. We have done our research on the UAW. We are at a plant where

we have to struggle and fight just to have the right to vote. The fight

to form a union at a Nissan factory in Canton, Mississippi. We are

fighting for the rights to rely on each other. For 14 years, workers at

this plant in Canton, Mississippi, have an engaged in a battle with

management for the right to have a union. Mississippi has typically

been resistant to letting in unions. This time, workers here are hopeful

they have a chance. I want a plan. I want health and safety. Equal

opportunity. I got hurt and I have been dealing without the whole time.

So, it has been a rough process. I think the union would stand up for

us. Not everyone wants the union. The best thing that has happened for

this state. We are campaigning hard to keep the UAW out of our plant. We

don't need anyone to tell us how to do things. Nissan has posted

antiunion images inside the company, putting them in trouble with the

board. They say voters have the right to know the company's

prospective. For those that remember first-hand the South's troubled

past, it is not just work rights, it is civil rights. If you went to

register to vote, someone might come out of their house wearing a hood.

Now they don't do that, but they come by and say we are going to

close the union, we are going to close the plant. Vote yes! The union

wants to turn past failure in the success. Victory here may spark the

US labour movement across the south. Michelle Fleury, BBC News, Canton,

Mississippi. Let's talk about the financial

markets now. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

closed above 22,000 points for the first time in its 121

year history on Wednesday. So has that euphoria

continued in Asian trading? Sharanjit Leyl is there for us. Tell

us about the euphoria in Asia. That is correct. Not much euphoria here.

Asian markets are going in the reverse direction to Wall Street,

actually falling. Only because they have been surging to their highest

levels in recent days. The highest levels in a decade, actually. There

has been profit-taking as a result. South Korean shares saw their

biggest fall since November, with Samsung Electronics wiping out any

gains this week. It has not helped that the president of South Korea is

planning to raise taxes on big corporations. The US dollar is

holding at two year lows. That is actually after the Federal Reserve

expressed caution about interest rates. Believe it or not, Apple have

had stellar results but are now having the reverse effects. Asian

suppliers have succumbed to profit-taking today. OK. It has to

happen eventually. Thank you, Sharanjit Leyl. It was good to see

you. That was Asia Business Report. We will see you