Tesla Stock Slips as EV Maker Reportedly Set To Lay Off ‘More Than 10%’ of Employees

Shares of electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla (TSLA) fell in intraday trading Monday following reports that the company is laying off “more than 10%” of its global staff.

Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk reportedly told employees in an internal email that the company is looking at “every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity,” according to The New York Times and EV-focused publication Electrek, which first reported the cuts.

The company, long seen as a leader in the electric vehicle space, saw its stock rise substantially last year as a number of other EV makers adopted Tesla’s charging technology, but Tesla has had a more difficult stretch to start 2024.

Earlier this year, Musk said in an earnings call that interest rates remaining high would hurt Tesla’s margins, and also focused on non-EV ideas like artificial intelligence (AI) robots and other products. Some on Wall Street have grown concerned that Musk’s focus on things like AI and X, formerly Twitter, as well as his other companies like SpaceX, could mean he is not as present in leading Tesla.

Earlier this month, Tesla reported its first decrease in quarterly deliveries since 2020 as increasing competition in the EV market and constantly shifting prices affected demand for Tesla’s vehicles in the U.S. and internationally. Last month, reports also emerged that Tesla had decreased production at its facility in Shanghai, China, in another sign of the company’s acknowledging challenges in demand.

Tesla is set to report its financial results for the quarter next week, with investors looking to see what impact the decrease in deliveries had on its finances, as well as any news about Musk’s stated plans for the company to also develop a fully autonomous “robotaxi.” Reports also surfaced on social media over the weekend that the company may be halting Cybertruck deliveries while it investigates an issue with the accelerator.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla stock slipped 3.3% to $165.39 as of 10:41 a.m. ET Monday, and has lost roughly a third of its value so far this year.