Tesla internal data shows company has slashed at least 14% of workforce this year

Tesla’s
hefty
downsizing
since
2023
has
reduced
its
global
head
count
to
just
over
121,000
people,
including
temporary
workers,
internal
records
suggest,
indicating
that
the
automaker
has
slashed
more
than
14%
of
its
workforce
so
far
this
year.

The
latest
figure
is
not
from
precise
payroll
data,
but
from
the
number
of
people
who
are
on
Tesla’s
“everybody”
email
distribution
list
as
of
June
17,
a
tally
viewed
by
CNBC.

Tesla
CEO

Elon
Musk
sent
an
email
to
“everybody”
that
day.
He
told
employees,
“Over
the
next
few
weeks,
Tesla
will
be
doing
a
comprehensive
review
to
provide
stock
options
grants
for
exceptional
performance.”
He
added
that
options
grants
will
also
be
awarded
to
“anyone
who
does
something
outstanding
for
the
company.”
Tesla’s
plan
to
reinstitute
options
grants,
after
previously
pausing
performance-based
equity
awards,
was
reported
first
by

Reuters.

Tesla’s
layoffs
announcement
landed
in
April,
when
Musk
sent
out
a

companywide
email
telling
employees
that
the
automaker
would
be
cutting
more
than
10%
of
its
staff.
Layoffs
at
that
point
were
already
underway.

Bloomberg

reported
that
Musk
was
aiming
for
a
20%
staff
cut.
Musk
indicated
that
the
number
could
be
even
bigger.
On
the
company’s
first-quarter
earnings
call
later
in
April,
he
said
Tesla
had
reached
an
inefficiency
level
of
25%
to
30%
after
“a
long
period
of
prosperity”
that
began
in
2019.

“We’ve
made
some
corrections
along
the
way,”
Musk
said
on
the
call.
“But
it
is
time
to
reorganize
the
company
for
the
next
phase
of
growth.”

In
a

filing
for
the
fourth
quarter, Tesla said
its
employee
head
count
worldwide
at
the
end
of
December
was
140,473,
a
number
that
represents
salaried
and
hourly
staffers.
The
“everybody”
email
list
includes
temporary
workers.
At
around
121,000,
that
suggests
Tesla
has
reduced
overall
headcount
by
at
least
14%
since
the
end
of
2023.

Tesla
didn’t
immediately
respond
to
a
request
for
comment.

In
at
least
one
instance,
Musk’s
head-count
reductions
went
too
far.
Tesla

dismantled
its
Supercharging
team,
which
consisted
of
hundreds
of
employees,
including
its
leader,
Rebecca
Tinucci.
The
company
later
hired
some
of
those
people
back,
according
to
posts
on
LinkedIn.

The
broader
cuts
coincide
with
a
slippage
in
sales
at
Tesla
as
the
company
reckons
with
an
aging
lineup
of
electric
vehicles
and
increased
competition
in
China
as
well
as
brand
deterioration
that
a recent
survey attributed
partly
to
Musk’s
“antics”
and
“political
rants.”
For
the
first
quarter,
Tesla

reported
a
9%
drop
in
annual
revenue,
the
biggest
decline
since
2012.

Across
the
auto
industry,
EV
sales
growth
slowed
this
year
after
two
years
of
rapid
expansion.
The
slide
was
particularly
acute
for
Tesla,
whose
Model
Y
was
the
top-selling
car
worldwide
in
2023.

A
Tesla
employee,
who
asked
not
to
be
named
in
order
to
discuss
sensitive
internal
issues,
told
CNBC
that
some
factory
workers
are
fearful
more
layoffs
could
follow
in
July,
depending
on
second-quarter
results.

A
production
and
deliveries
report
for
the
second
quarter
is
expected
from
Tesla
during
the
first
week
of
July.

Musk
has
promised
investors
the
company
will
soon
publish
a
new
“Master
Plan,”
which
would
be
his
fourth,
and
that
Tesla
will
reveal
its
design
for
a
“dedicated
robotaxi”
on
Aug.
8.

Tesla
shares
were
little
changed
on
Friday
at
$181.71.
The
stock
is
down
27%
this
year,
while
the
Nasdaq
is
up
18%.

WATCH:

Tesla
shareholder
vote
positive
sign
for
the
stock