Tesla to cut 14,000 jobs as Elon Musk bids to make it ‘lean, innovative and hungry’
Tesla is reportedly laying off more than 10% of its global workforce, equivalent to at least 14,000 roles.
The electric carmaker’s chief executive, Elon Musk, said he had made “the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10% globally”, in a memo reported by the online publication Elektrek. Tesla employs 140,473 people, according to its annual report.
Musk wrote that Tesla had grown rapidly in recent years and that as a result there had been “duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas”.
Referring to the job cuts, he wrote: “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.”
The reported move follows a difficult start to the year for the electric carmaker, which missed market expectations with first-quarter sales figures. Tesla said it had made approximately 387,000 deliveries to customers in the first quarter of 2024, missing market expectations by about 13%. It was its first fall in deliveries in nearly four years.
The company cited production problems caused by unforeseen factors such as attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and an arson attack on its European factory, but the figures also pointed to a softening in global demand.
Musk dismissed comments that his divisive persona had caused a downturn in sales and pointed to similarly poor figures from the Chinese rival BYD, saying it was a “tough quarter for everyone”.
Tesla has manufacturing sites in California, Nevada, Texas and New York in the US as well as plants in Germany and China.
Separately Reuters reported on Monday that BP had cut more than a tenth of the workforce in its electric vehicle charging business – representing more than 100 jobs – and has pulled it out of several markets after a bet on rapid growth in commercial electric vehicle fleets did not pay off.
BP said the changes at its Pulse unit were “a step towards ensuring that we can execute our goals with even greater precision and effectiveness”.
Tesla was contacted for comment.