As sales stall, Tesla reported to reduce headcount by 10 percent

This could mean that approximately 14,000 Tesla employees face job losses

The biggest electric vehicle (EV) company globally, Tesla, is reportedly in the process of reducing its workforce by 10 percent, as revealed in an internal memo seen by Reuters.

The EV maker, with over 140,000 employees, is reportedly reducing its workforce in an effort to cut costs amid declining sales.

This comes soon after Tesla missed analysts’ Q1 delivery targets. For reference, The company surpassed analyst estimates in Q4 2023 by producing approximately 495,000 vehicles and delivering over 484,000. In Q1 2024, however, the EV company delivered just 386,810 vehicles, falling short by roughly 100,000 deliveries.

Tesla misses analysts’ delivery estimates in Q1 2024 by a huge margin

The company said that it had already warned that its rate of growth would be muted in 2024, quoting the interest rate hikes squeezing the spending power of potential customers. The company is also facing stiff competition from China’s BYD, which became the world’s top seller of electric cars in Q4, 2023, only for Tesla to regain the title in Q1, 2024.

The exact number of layoffs hasn’t been shared, but 10 percent of its workforce being laid off means that roughly 14,000 Tesla employees are in the midst of losing their jobs.

Additionally, layoffs have reportedly already begun in California and Texas, as suggested by Reuters. Tesla’s stock is down by over 33 percent in 2024.