The Monocle Minute

When Tesla’s Berlin gigafactory opened in 2022, it was seen as both an example of the city’s burgeoning dynamism and a vote of confidence in Olaf Scholz’s Germany. How times have changed. Today, Scholz is a lame duck, the German economy is stagnating and Tesla’s gigafactory is so hamstrung by employee absences that managers have been turning up at people’s homes unannounced to check whether they really are sick. Unions have reacted angrily, while Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has declared that he will be personally investigating the matter.

Tesla’s problems are in some ways specific – local media has reported a large number of work-related accidents at the plant – but the issue also speaks to wider debates around employment today. It should go without saying that workers need to feel safe when going about their daily business. But, ideally, they should also feel a sense of pride and collegiality in what they do. In certain sectors, an expectation of remote working among applicants has led employers to engage in a puerile arms race to entice the brightest and best with benefits and amenities. Either that or they have glumly resigned themselves to having empty or non-existent office spaces.

Recruitment shouldn’t be about who has the shiniest on-site gym but which employer can foster the best culture. A rewarding job gives you purpose and worth. This derives from its ability to provide you with a sense of reward and the fulfilment that you get from feeling part of a shared enterprise. A large part of this is the connection that employees feel with the brand and their superiors. Tesla was once seen as a model outfit – a successful and “disruptive” company engaged in a noble endeavour. Today its CEO is a laughing stock, while investors are laughing at its stock (billions of dollars have been wiped off its share value this year). The Germans probably have a word for taking pleasure in other people’s misfortune. Maybe one of Tesla’s managers should visit Mr Musk’s house and check whether he’s OK.

Alexis Self is Monocle’s foreign editor. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

Saudi Arabia has agreed to buy a 40 per cent stake in The Selfridges Group. The country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will partner with Central Group, the Thai retail giant that bought Selfridges for $5bn (€4.5bn) in 2021 as part of a joint venture with Austria’s Signa Group, which then fell into insolvency. This prompted the search for another investor – though Saudi Arabia was not an obvious choice.

Diplomatic relations between Bangkok and Riyadh were only restored in 2022 after a 30-year diplomatic dispute known as the Blue Diamond Affair, triggered by the theft of gems belonging to the House of Saud by a Thai national in 1989. The formal restoration of government ties opened the way for Saudi tourists to visit Thailand. This week’s commercial deal represents another milestone in the two countries’ budding friendship. Central Group’s CEO, Tos Chirathivat, described the PIF as the multinational’s “partner of choice”. Saudi Arabia’s deep pockets and Thailand’s shopping know-how make this a retail partnership to watch.

This year’s Obel Award recognising community-driven architecture has been won by Mexican studio Colectivo C733 for its 36x36 series, a collection of 36 works completed in just 36 months. Spearheaded by Mexico’s secretariat for agrarian, land and urban development, the project aims to regenerate vulnerable parts of the country through sports and educational facilities, community centres and cultural institutions.

Colectivo C733 was founded in 2019 as a joint venture by five architects who recognised the value of working collaboratively to pool resources across public initiatives: Gabriela Carrillo, Carlos Facio, José Amozurrutia, Eric Valdez and Israel Espin.

The works in the 36x36 collection include a multipurpose sports complex in Coahuila, a park in Tabasco and a library in Campeche, all designed with Colectivo C733’s pledge of creating efficient structures in mind.

With autumn now upon us, it’s time to update your cultural calendar. Monocle picks three exhibitions to brighten your month as the days grow shorter.

‘Floridas: Anastasia Samoylova and Walker Evans’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Photographer Anastasia Samoylova has been documenting her home state of Florida on a series of roadtrips since 2016. Following the environmental focus of her impressive Flood Zone series, she continues to seek out the darker corners of the Sunshine State through unexpected reflections and weather-beaten textures. The pairing with one of her inspirations, the late Walker Evans, is a canny one. He first visited Florida in 1934 and captured a similar mix of tourist trappings and swampy natural beauty.
‘Floridas’ runs from 14 October to 11 May 2025

‘Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &…’ Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
There was a time when Tom Wesselmann’s artistic work would not have figured highly in a major pop-art retrospective but Gagosian’s Building a Legacy programme has done wonders for his posthumous standing. This latest rehabilitative step places his entire oeuvre in dazzling company, including Warhol prints, Lichtenstein comic strips and a Coca-Cola-branded Han dynasty urn by Ai Weiwei. It will be interesting to see whether Wesselmann’s early collages and controversial nudes can hold their own in this setting.
‘Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &…’ runs from 17 October to 24 February 2025

‘Pauline Curnier Jardin’, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki
Marseille-born artist Pauline Curnier Jardin tackles taboos head-on in the film installations collected here, combining ritualistic imagery, ancient mythology and a healthy dose of humour. Screened in a giant marzipan-coloured arena, Fat to Ashes juxtaposes footage of Köln carnival and images of pig slaughter, while 2019’s Qu’un Sang Impur (or Bled Out) is a post-menopausal remake of Jean Genet’s film Un Chant d’Amour. Curnier Jardin is having fun – and it’s infectious.
‘Pauline Curnier Jardin’ runs from 11 October to 23 February 2025

For more cultural recommendations from our global network of reporters, pick up a copy ofMonocle’s October issue, which is out now.

We visit Northern Italy, stopping first in Murano to learn about the island’s glass production today, then across to Lombardy to reflect on the outstanding works on show at the Lake Como Design Festival. Plus, what are the challenges of designing bespoke interiors fit for the sky? We meet the founder of a luxury brand, Unique Aircraft.