In a letter addressed to the executives of Tesla, Elon Musk affirms that it is necessary to pause the recruitments, and to reduce 10% of the workforce.
Elon Musk has “a very bad feeling” about the outlook for the economy. In a letter sent Thursday to the executives of his company, the billionaire says that Tesla must take a “pause in recruitments everywhere in the world”, and reduce its workforce by around 10%, reveals Reuters.
In recent years, Tesla’s workforce has grown in proportion to the company’s investments. New factory in Berlin, ramp-up of that in Shanghai, construction of a gigafactory in Texas… Between 2019 and 2021, the number of Tesla employees rose from 48,000 to 93,000, reports Statista.
In another email sent a few days earlier to his employees, the general manager of Tesla had told them to come back to the office at least 40 hours a week, or to leave the company. “If you don’t come, we’ll assume you quit,” he said. And those who wish to continue teleworking “should pretend to work elsewhere”, even added Elon Musk.
Logistic challenges in 2022
Tesla released a record profit in 2021, $5.5 billion. But like all companies in the automotive sector, it faces supply problems. During the presentation of its financial results, Tesla also warned that logistical challenges could persist throughout the year.
Elon Musk’s group plans to focus again in 2022 on ramping up production to meet demand, rather than launching new models.
Since the start of the health crisis, delivery times have been getting longer. For the Model 3, its most affordable and also the most popular model, you have to wait at least seven months. For the basic version, sold for nearly 51,000 euros, delivery is estimated between January and March 2023, for an order placed today. While the model at 65,000 euros can be delivered around December.