Report: Staff cuts planned

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is considering laying off 10% of the company’s workers, according to a Reuters report, at a time when it is facing new questions from U.S. regulators over complaints of the electric vehicles braking for no reason.

In an email Thursday to Tesla executives titled “pause all hiring worldwide,” Musk wrote that he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy and that the company needed to cut staff, Reuters reported.

Tesla had around 100,000 employees worldwide, according to recent regulatory filings, including its subsidiaries.

Tesla shares have lost nearly one-third of their value since early April, shortly after Musk first publicly floated the idea of buying Twitter.

Government regulators reported Friday that more than 750 Tesla owners have complained that cars operating on the automaker’s partially automated driving systems have suddenly stopped on roadways for no apparent reason.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed the number in an information request letter to Tesla that was posted on the agency’s website.

The letter gives Tesla a deadline of June 20 to respond to the information request but says the company can ask for an extension.

In opening the probe, the agency said it was looking into vehicles equipped with automated driver-assist features such as adaptive cruise control and “Autopilot,” which allows them to automatically brake and steer within their lanes.

It’s the fourth formal investigation of the Texas automaker in the past three years, and NHTSA is supervising 23 Tesla recalls since January of 2021.