Elon Musk says Tesla needs a 'complete organizational overhaul' to get to 'the next level' amid mass layoffs at the company

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

• Elon Musk says Tesla has to do a “complete organizational overhaul” every once in a while.
• This, Musk says, would enable his company “to reach the next level.”
• Musk’s remarks come after a round of mass layoffs at Tesla, where it cut more than 10% of staff.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the EV giant needs to do a “complete organizational overhaul to reach the next level” every “half decade or so.”

“That said, our executive tenure is unusually high at well over 10 years at Tesla,” Musk wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Musk’s remarks come after reports of mass layoffs at Tesla. The company is slashing “more than 10%” of its head count, per an internal memo obtained by BI. Tesla employs more than 140,000 people around the world.

In his memo to staff, Musk said that Tesla’s “rapid growth” had resulted in “duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas.”

“There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done. This will enable us to be lean, innovative, and hungry for the next growth phase cycle,” Musk wrote.

This week’s layoffs also coincide with the departure of two longtime Tesla executives.

Drew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and Electrical engineering, and Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy and business development, said on Monday that they are leaving the company. Baglino and Patel joined Tesla in 2006 and 2016, respectively.

The Tesla layoffs come at a rough time for the company, which has been grappling with declining sales and increased competition from Chinese automakers like BYD.

“The Chinese car companies are the most competitive car companies in the world,” Musk told investors during Tesla’s earnings call in January.

“If there are no trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world,” he continued.

Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

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