“There is nothing I hate more, but it has to be done,” CEO Elon Musk said in the email released by Electrek. Later post onMusk said that “about every 5 years we need to reorganize and streamline the company for the next phase of growth.”
As part of the layoffs, Tesla Senior Vice President Drew Bagliano is also leaving, Bloomberg reports. (Baglino confirmed later X’s departure.) He has been with the company for over 18 years and has held several positions and was most recently responsible for Tesla’s energy and powertrain division. Electrek also noticed that the Tesla badge has disappeared from the company’s political manager’s X account, Rohan Patel.
Tesla also reportedly abandoned plans to produce an affordable Model 2 that would cost around $25,000, as it would instead focus on a new robotaxi. This comes as the company faces increasing pressure from falling demand for electric vehicles and more affordable EVs being released by Chinese manufacturers. Last year, Tesla lost the title of the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer to China’s BYD, which produced 3.02 million electric vehicles, compared to Tesla’s 1.81 million.
Updated April 15 at 9:35 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to reflect reports that top Tesla executives Drew Baglino and Rohan Patel are leaving the company.
Updated April 15 at 1:25 p.m. ET: Story updated with Musk’s confirmation of X layoffs and executive departures.
