Elon Musk still hasn’t finished his 10% layoffs at Tesla and employees are ‘walking on eggshells every day’ – Fortune
Over a month into Chief Executive Officer Elon Musks plans to slash at least10% of the companys workforce, hes still not done. This means anxious employees wake up each dayto check their messages, wondering if they still have a job. The rolling job cuts are likely to extend through at least June, according to people familiar with the matter, who werentauthorized to speak publicly about the layoffs.
Its difficult to imagine the feeling of walking on eggshells every day at work, uncertain whether or not youll be able to pay your bills or feed your family, Michael Minick, a former Tesla sales representative who was laid off in April,wroteon LinkedIn. It would be a relief to know that they can breathe and focus on their work, without the gray cloud of uncertainty looming over.
Teslas workforce already has endured dramatic transformation the last few years the onetime Silicon Valley upstart with a maniacal vision on clean energy is now concentratedin Texasand fixated on other undertakings, includingartificial intelligenceandrobots.
Somestill with the company say Musk has sapped morale by prioritizinga robotaxi over a $25,000 electric vehicle. They also say amission that had inspired legions of Musk acolytes has been muddied.
Musk has yet to give staff an all clear indication that the job cuts are over, leading co-workers to darkly joke with one another about anxiety andinsomnia. One current employee described the atmosphere as akin toSquid Game, the hit television series in which characters facing financial hardship fight for their lives playing deadly childrens contests.
The waves of dismissals, which already have hit thousands across departments including sales, human resources and virtually the entireSuperchargerdivision, are expected to gut significant parts ofTesla, whichstarted the year with more than 140,000 employees. Musk has pushed for a 20% reduction in headcount, Bloomberg reported last month.
In the Supercharger division, some employees found out that Max de Zegher, the director of charging for North America, had been laid off afterhis Microsoft Teams icon suddenly went gray,indicating that he was no longer with the company.
Many on theteam spent the next several dayssaying their goodbyes, cracking jokes and making references to the Titanic,according to Joel Musial,who was laid off from his job as a Tesla construction manager.We were just missing the string quartet! Musialwroteon LinkedIn.
The gallows humor pervaded the Supercharging team, which had set upmore than 6,200 stations and 57,000 connectors worldwide and was in the process ofopening the networkto other automakers, which should increase usage.
Musk says Teslastill plans to growthe network, albeit at a slower pace.Herehiredde Zegher, but hasnt said how many others will be asked to return.
Its also unclear whether the company will have enough personnel to sustain Supercharger stations, after layoffs hit several technician groups. A former employee in California said two dozen people were cut from an 80-person team that maintained and fixedSuperchargersin Northern California, leaving gaps in both geography and specialties.
The region now has just one employee in an over 200-mile stretch between Santa Rosa and Eureka, said the person, who was cut two weeks after the initial layoff announcement.
Another person in a similar role based in Canada predictedchaos after he and dozens of others were let go, since many Tesla charging stations are hours apart,and the amount of work requiredwill only increase once more companies customers get access.
He said hed worked for two weeks after the initial layoff announcement in a state of distraction and uncertainty, where an ever-growing workload and constantly disappearing co-workers made it difficult to concentrate. On his last day at Tesla, he said he was dispatching technicians and attending his daily slate of meetings,only to find himself locked out of his company laptop at 10:45 p.m. By 11:01 p.m. that night, hereceived the layoff noticeat his personal account.
The cuts are hitting at a time of sluggish demand for the broader EV industry, which is heapingpressure on a workforce already coming to grips with changes in the companys culture, according to a former sales employee.The person saidhed already seen significant turnover in his near-decade with Tesla, and that each departurecostthe carmakercrucialinstitutional knowledge.
Great companies are made up of equal parts great people and great products, and the latter are only possible when its people are thriving,Rich Otto, who resigned as Teslas head of product launches this month, said in a LinkedIn post that he deleted after media outlets reported on it. The recent layoffs that are rocking the company and its morale have thrown this harmony out of balance, and its hard to see the long game.
Go here to see the original:
- Elon Musk's life after Washington, from Tesla to robots and tunnels - Le Monde.fr - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Trump gives a status update on his relationship with Elon Musk - businessinsider.com - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Elon Musk's Daughter Vivian Wilson Responds to Critic Asking to Hear Her "Real Voice - E! News - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Mehdi Hasan trolls Elon Musk for calling Zohran Mamdani 'future of Democratic Party': Worst person you k - Times of India - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Elon Musk launches Grokipedia as an alternative to 'woke' Wikipedia - NBC News - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Elon Musk Says He Wants Strong Influence Over the Robot Army Hes Creating - VICE - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Grokipedia, the online repository Elon Musk built to try to dethrone Wikipedia, is live - businessinsider.com - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- E&E News: Elon Musk back in Trumps good graces after summer spat - POLITICO Pro - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Elon Musk stirs controversy after snapping back at former Tesla employee: 'This nonsense is exactly the problem' - Yahoo Finance - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's 'status update' on Elon Musk: He had a stupid moment, but I suspect that I always will ... - Times of India - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Elon Musk launched an early version of Grokipedia, an online encyclopedia written by AI that the billionaire is touting as a less biased alternative... - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- IF Metall chair to Elon Musk: Give us a chance as Tesla Sweden strike hits 2 years - Teslarati - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Elon Musk launches a Wikipedia rival that extols his own vision - The Washington Post - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Elon Musk launches Grokipedia an encyclopedia where AI gets the last word - TradingView - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Elon Musk to quit Tesla CEO role? All on Chairperson's warning to shareholders | Hindustan Times - Hindustan Times - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Meet the "Infinite Money Glitch" That Could Send Tesla Stock Soaring, According to Elon Musk - The Motley Fool - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk surprises on company-wide call by demanding control of enormous 'robot army': 'I don't feel comfortable wielding that' - The Cool Down - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk Raises the Stakes for Vote on His Pay - The Wall Street Journal - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Candace's latest conspiracy theory is Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel are not human; 'Something in the - Times of India - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk is taking control of space and the internet and it could end badly - the-independent.com - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- What Peter Thiel told Elon Musk when he asked him about wealth: What am I supposed to dogive it to my ch - Times of India - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Is Elon Musk "Superhuman"? Here's Why Nvidia's Jensen Huang Thinks So After the Tesla Chief's $7 Billion Feat - The Motley Fool - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk said he needs $1 trillion to stop corporate terrorists from wresting control of Tesla - CNN - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- 7 Cryptocurrency Wealth Building Tips You Can Learn From Elon Musk - Nasdaq - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk seeks $1T to retain influence over Teslas robot army - Anadolu Ajans - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk Says AI Will 'Likely' Be Good For HumanityBut Admits He'd Still Want To See It Even If It Turns Out Bad. 'I'd At Least Like To Be Alive To... - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- The Stupidest Thing Elon Musk Said This Week - CleanTechnica - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk on Grok kids mode: Has same settings that companies want for - Times of India - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk's Starbase is booming. Here's what we know - MySA - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk Wants $1 Trillion to Build a Robot Army at Tesla - Truthout - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Tesla Analyst Says Elon Musk Will 'Be Heavy On Optimism And Light On Truth' For Q3 Earnings Call - Yahoo Finance - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk Says China's Falcon 9 Rival Might Outperform In 5 Years 'If They Are Lucky,' Notes SpaceX Will Be Launching Starship By Then - Benzinga - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Elon Musk defends $1 trillion pay package: I just dont feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted - Yahoo Finance - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk said Tesla's robot will be 'incredible surgeon,' left Wall Street with no guidance on EVs - CNBC - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk calls acting NASA chief Sean Dummy as SpaceX moon contract hangs in the balance - CNN - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- With $1 trillion pay package on the line, Elon Musk blasts influential firms telling shareholders to reject it: Those guys are corporate terrorists -... - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk calls out 'corporate terrorists' ahead of key Texas vote - Chron - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk spent $288M to cost Tesla $1.4B in lost revenue and more to come - Electrek - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk defends $1 trillion pay package: I just dont feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted - Fortune - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk reaches settlement in $128M lawsuit filed by former Twitter execs: 'He tried to back out' - Yahoo Finance - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk Finds That Breaking Up With California Is Hard to Do - PCMag - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk presses for $1 trillion pay plan because he needs to influence Tesla's future 'robot army' - Yahoo Finance - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk says self-driving is Tesla's future. It's struggling to get owners to pay for it. - businessinsider.com - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk really deserves that $1tn bonus package - Financial Times - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk Says Optimus Will Be an 'Incredible Surgeon' - businessinsider.com - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- What is Macrohard and why does Elon Musk have it on this Memphis building? - WREG.com - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk claims Tesla robot will be 'incredible surgeon' despite previous failed predictions: 'A world where there is no poverty' - The Cool Down - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk claims Tesla's new AI5 chip is 40x more performant than previous-gen AI5 Next-gen custom silicon for vehicle AI to now be built by Samsung... - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Can 54-year-old Elon Musk compete with the 39-year-old rising star in the robotics field? - 36Kr - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk says self-driving is Tesla's future. It's struggling to get owners to pay for it. - AOL.com - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Why 'angry' Elon Musk slammed advisory firms and called their past advice extremely destructive - Times of India - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Elon Musk got feisty about his $1 trillion pay package in the final minutes of Tesla's earnings call - businessinsider.com - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk goes on tirade after NASA said it will seek moon landers from SpaceX rivals - NBC News - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Tesla's Elon Musk lobbies support for $1 trillion pay package in Q3 earnings call - as it happened - Reuters - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk Accuses Head of NASA of Being "Gay" - Futurism - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk Wants Strong Influence Over the Robot Army Hes Building - WIRED - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk Slams Trump Cabinet Member with '2-Digit IQ' for 'Trying to Kill NASA' - People.com - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk: Tesla is increasing EV production based on anticipated demand for self-driving - Electrek - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk frets over controlling Teslas robot army as car biz rebounds slightly - TechCrunch - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk Threatens To Leave Tesla Over $1 Trillion Payday - Yahoo Finance - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Tesla's $1 Trillion Illusion: Elon Musk's Pay Package And The Robotaxi Myth - Yahoo Finance - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk says Tesla will operate robotaxis in Arizona by end of the year' - azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Why Are You Gay? Elon Musk Rages at Top Trump Official Over Loss of Government Contract - Yahoo - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk has a taste for my pizza ovens - The Times - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk Says Tesla Robotaxi Could Go Driverless In Austin By Year-End, Walks Back Major Promise - Benzinga - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- CEO has a harsh response to Elon Musk's gold thesis - Yahoo Finance - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- In a blow for Elon Musk, Tesla's profit dips in third quarter despite rise in sales; heres why and what i - The Economic Times - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk responds to report that Amazon will replace 600,000 jobs with robots; says: AI and robots will - Times of India - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- A 3rd proxy firm broke ranks on Elon Musk's $1 trillion Tesla pay plan giving it a partial thumbs-up, with a catch - businessinsider.com - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Elon Musk warns Working may soon become optional: Robots and AI may replace jobs, giving people time to - Times of India - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Cards Against Humanity and Elon Musk's SpaceX reach settlement over alleged trespassing in Texas - Yahoo - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- Elon Musk makes fun of Amazon after AWS outage, says: Even if someone put a gun to ... - Times of India - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- The founder of the world's top LiDAR maker says there's one problem with Elon Musk's approach to self-driving - Yahoo Finance - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- Elon Musk now controls two thirds of satellites as 10,000th Starlink launches - The Independent - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- The founder of the world's top LiDAR maker says there's one problem with Elon Musk's approach to self-driving - businessinsider.com - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- How Elon Musk redefines advertising: Inside Xs shift from brand safety battles to AI-driven performance ads - Storyboard18 - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- Elon Musk pushed Twitter users to stop using links. Now it looks like he's changed his mind. Why? - businessinsider.com - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- Elon Musk Brings Floki Crypto Back to the Spotlight: FLOKI Price Prediction - 99Bitcoins - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- Elon Musk Threatens to Leave Tesla if Shareholders Dont Approve His Trillion-Dollar Pay Package Warns, Which Other Automotive CEO Would You Like to... - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- Cards Against Humanity and Elon Musk's SpaceX reach settlement over alleged trespassing in Texas - nwitimes.com - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]