Tesla CEO Elon Musk ousts top executives amid falling sales
In a decisive response to dwindling sales, EV maker Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has terminated two senior executives. Rebecca Tinucci, who headed Tesla's Supercharger business, as well as Daniel Ho, leader of the new vehicles program, were dismissed today (April 30). This information was revealed in an email, Musk sent to senior management and reported by The Information.
Further layoffs planned in Tesla's Supercharger group
Musk's restructuring plans extend beyond the dismissal of Tinucci and Ho. He intends to lay off all staff members under their supervision, which includes an estimated 500 employees from the Supercharger group. The exact number of employees under Ho's management is yet to be determined. Musk expressed in his email, "Hopefully these actions are making it clear that we need to be absolutely hardcore about headcount and cost reduction."
Tesla's public policy team to be disbanded
In addition to the layoffs, Musk plans to disband Tesla's public policy team, previously led by ex-executive Rohan Patel. This move was also disclosed in the email sent to senior management. Musk added that while some executives are taking the situation seriously, many are not. As of 2023-end, Tesla had a global workforce comprising 140,473 employees.
Background of dismissed Tesla executives
Ho had been with Tesla since 2013, contributing significantly to the development of Model S, 3, and Y as a program manager, before leading all new vehicles. Tinucci joined Tesla in 2018, as a senior product manager and later took charge of the Supercharger business. Earlier this month, Patel and Drew Baglino, who was responsible for battery development, announced their exits when Tesla initiated layoffs affecting over 10% of its workforce.
