--- title: "Elon Musk Fires More Than Ten Percent of Tesla’s Staff After Alienating Pretty Much Everyone Who Might Have Bought a Tesla" description: "Tesla is laying off over ten percent of its global workforce, the latest bruising in a not-so-great 2024 for the Elon Musk-owned EV maker." date: "2024-04-15" modified: "2024-04-15" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-lays-off-staff" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "layoffs" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Fires More Than Ten Percent of Tesla’s Staff After Alienating Pretty Much Everyone Who Might Have Bought a Tesla ![Tesla is laying off over ten percent of its global workforce, the latest bruising in a not-so-great 2024 for the Elon Musk-owned EV maker.]() *LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 13: Elon Musk arrives at the 10th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on April 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/FilmMagic) \Image: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images\* ## Mass Effect The electric carmaker Tesla is laying off more than ten percent of its global workforce, multiple outlets report. Per [*Electrek*](), the mass firings were confirmed in a leaked internal memo to staffers from company CEO Elon Musk, who wrote that "we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than \[ten percent\] globally." "There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done," Musk added, according to *Electrek*. "This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle." It's only April, and already 2024 has been a rough year for Tesla. The company's shockingly low first-quarter vehicle deliveries — though it was predicted to deliver an average of about 457,000 vehicles, Tesla only delivered about 387,000 — prompted one analyst to refer to this as Tesla's "nightmare" year. A [recent report from ]()*[Reuters]()*, meanwhile, alleged that fierce competition in China has pushed Tesla to give up on its long-hyped Model 2, billed as an [affordable, competitive alternative]() to Tesla's pricier models. (Musk has denied the report's claims.) In short, Tesla's going through it. And now, amid this tumult, it looks like staffers worldwide are about to be out of their jobs. ## Rocky Roads Ahead The most obvious culprit is a person who kept his job: Musk, whose disastrous acquisition and renaming of Twitter and hard turn into racist conspiracy theories have alienated a huge portion of the public who would have previously been keen to buy a Tesla. "It got to the point where we felt like we were driving around in a QAnon-MAGA hat, as if Tesla had become a symbol of white supremacy," one driver [said last year]() of what drove her to sell her Tesla. According [to *Reuters*](), Tesla's last annual report noted the employment of approximately 140,473 staffers. While the exact layoff is still unclear, firing over ten percent of that workforce, as *Electrek* notes, means that at *least* 14,000 workers globally will be getting the axe. Musk expressed remorse for the layoffs in the company memo, writing that he "would like to thank everyone who is departing Tesla for their hard work over the years." He then turned his attention to the company's remaining employees, noting that they have plenty of work ahead of them. (And considering Musk's recent — [though definitely not the first]() — [robotaxi announcement](), we're sure they do.) "We are developing some of the most revolutionary technologies in auto, energy and artificial intelligence," Musk wrote in his memo. "As we prepare the company for the next phase of growth, your resolve will make a huge difference in getting us there." **More on Tesla:** [*There's Something Very Suspicious About Tesla's Big Robotaxi Announcement*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()