Elon Musk Slams Tesla With Fresh Round of Layoffs

Has Tesla hit rock bottom?

You're Fired

Tesla CEO Elon Musk isn't done laying off workers at his embattled EV company.

In an email obtained by Electrek, Musk said he wanted Tesla to be "absolutely hard core" about layoffs, with executives whose subordinates "don’t obviously pass the excellent, necessary and trustworthy test" also now on the chopping block.

As a result, the company is reportedly laying off hundreds more staff, including senior executives.

The carmaker's already reeling from a headcount reduction of more than ten percent earlier this month. Multiple top Tesla executives have resigned as well, leaving massive gaps in the company's leadership.

And now many of their teams are also being let go, with rumors suggesting the total number of workers affected by the layoffs could amount to around 20 percent of Tesla's total headcount.

The company's already in for a "nightmare" year, with year-over-year sales dropping precipitously. Its rapidly shrinking workforce likely won't help that situation in the short run, apart from slowing down the company's spending.

Head Winds

Then there are ongoing investigations into the company's controversial self-driving software, a disastrous rollout of the Cybertruck, reports that the company was abandoning a cheaper next-gen vehicle in favor of a robotaxi (which were later partially challenged by the company), and Musk's bizarre political outbursts that are actively turning off Tesla's core buyers.

Apart from self-inflicted wounds and a lack of coherent leadership, Tesla is also facing a massive influx of cheaper competition, particularly from China, and a downturn in the demand for EVs overall.

The latest layoffs will hit the company's rollout of its Supercharger network particularly hard. Senior director of EV charging Rebecca Tinucci is leaving the company this week, alongside her 500-person-strong team.

Musk, however, maintains that Tesla will still build out its existing Supercharger network.

With its reputation in the gutter and a dire financial outlook, Tesla likely hasn't hit rock bottom quite yet.

But how Musk and the rest of the company will respond once it does will determine whether it can keep up with the competition that has long caught up with it.

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