Elon Musk has terminated the employment of two senior Tesla executives and announced plans for extensive layoffs due to dissatisfaction with declining sales and slow progress in reducing the workforce, according to a report by The Information on Tuesday.
The report, based on an email from Musk to senior managers, named Rebecca Tinucci, the senior director of Tesla's Supercharger business, and Daniel Ho, head of the new vehicles program, as those dismissed effective Tuesday morning.
Additionally, Musk intends to let go of all staff under Tinucci and Ho, including approximately 500 employees in the Supercharger division. The total number of employees under Ho's leadership was not specified.
Furthermore, Tesla's public policy team, formerly led by Rohan Patel, will be disbanded as part of the restructuring.
In the email, Musk emphasized the necessity of stringent measures on headcount and cost reduction. He expressed concern that while some executive staff members are taking these issues seriously, many are not.
As of the end of 2023, Tesla employed 140,473 people globally.
Daniel Ho has been with Tesla since 2013, initially working as a program manager for models such as the S, 3, and Y, before taking over the new vehicles sector.
Rebecca Tinucci joined the company in 2018 as a senior product manager, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
This announcement follows the recent departures of two other Tesla leaders, Rohan Patel and Drew Baglino, who headed battery development. Earlier in the month, Tesla also reduced its workforce by more than 10%.
Tesla faces challenges with declining sales and a competitive pricing environment, leading to its first quarterly revenue drop since 2020.
In related developments, Musk recently advanced Tesla's driver-assistance technology in China, a critical market in the electric vehicle price competition, with a surprise visit to Beijing. This visit occurred shortly after canceling a planned trip to India, where Tesla has been eager to establish operations, citing pressing commitments with Tesla.