Elon Musk is throwing his weight around Tesla, comes in like a wrecking ball
We are getting more information on the ongoing layoffs at Tesla. Several employees describe the situation as Elon Musk “throwing his weight around” to solidify his status after being mostly absent over the last year.
But he is coming in like a dangerous wrecking ball.
Sources familiar with the matter told Electrek that Musk was not as frequently present at Tesla as he used to be over the last year and since his acquisition of Twitter.
That has changed over the last few weeks.
Musk is now all over Tesla or at least, his presence is being felt everywhere at Tesla.
It started with the first wave of layoffs two weeks ago. Musk announced that Tesla would be laying off about 10% of its workforce and used his usual excuse of growing the headcount too fast, resulting in hiring inefficiencies with duplicate jobs.
However, when we first heard about those plans a day prior, we heard that the layoffs could be closer to 20% of the workforce.
Sure enough, the layoffs are still ongoing.
Tesla started another wave of layoffs this week – including the entire charging organization.
Now, Electrek has learned that Musk also gutted Tesla’s cathode material manufacturing team in Texas.
It started with Anthony Thurston, Senior Manager, Cathode Materials & Manufacturing at Tesla, earlier this month, but Electrek has learned that Musk has now let go of most of the team.
Sources familiar with the matter describe a difficult situation at Tesla right now. Uncertainty, confusion, and frustration are the main feelings going around the offices.
Several sources confirmed that there are rumors around Tesla that the vehicle engineering and design departments are next.
During Tesla’s earnings call last week, Musk commented a bit more on the layoffs. This time, he said it was about “reorganizing” the company:
We’ve made some corrections along the way. But it is time to reorganize the company for the next phase of growth and you really need to reorganize it.
Analysts and Tesla fans are trying to understand the logic behind some of these moves and the firing of almost the entire charging organization, around 500 people, has been hard to understand for most people.
Musk said that Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network but with a focus on existing stations:
We reported that Tesla has already backed out of leases for new Supercharger stations.
Sources say that Tesla will have issues continuing to grow the network without the organization of Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s former head of charging.
In the past, Tesla rehired people it fired after realizing that it couldn’t get the work done without them.
This is raising questions about the logic behind some of the layoffs and their efficacy.
Sources familiar with the matter believe that some of the layoffs have nothing to do with hiring inefficiencies or restructuring, but rather with Musk throwing his weight around Tesla.
Two sources told Electrek that Tinucci was fighting back pressure from Musk to fire a bigger percentage of her team, and the CEO decided to let go of the entire team as an example.
Musk wrote in an email to executives on Sunday:
“Hopefully, these actions are making it clear that we need to be absolutely hard-core about headcount and cost reduction. While some on exec staff are taking this seriously, most are not yet doing so.”
The message is clear: fire people as many people as I’m asking, or you and your entire team will be gone.
Electrek’s Take
This is clearly about more than hiring inefficiency and restructuring. Musk is cleaning house. It could be that he has serious concerns about the economy and lack of reversal for Tesla’s sales in the short term, but he didn’t go into that in the earnings call last week.
It could be about more than that. I don’t know if I completely agree with the theory that Musk is securing his leadership position at Tesla, but it is a viable theory.
As I previously presented, the vote on his compensation package is turning into a vote of confidence in the CEO.
These layoffs are useful for him on that front. A lot of the leadership is gone. With every leader leaving, Musk becomes more needed at Tesla. Also, it doesn’t hurt that all these leaders are unloading their stocks, which won’t be voted against him.
However, it raises the question: is it actually good for Tesla?
The Supercharger team did something incredible: build the only successful and liked fast-charging network in North America, which is critical to EV adoption.
Firing the entire team because the head was pushing back on the number of layoffs is ridiculous, especially if the plan is still to grow the network. Tesla needs to grow the network since it is currently onboarding other automakers on it. Even if Tesla sees its own sales slowing down, the Supercharger network will need a capacity increase.
Everyone I talked to at Tesla says that it is a complete mess. Contractors for most ongoing Supercharger projects lost their point of contact at Tesla. Again, many suspect Tesla will try to rehire some of the workers fired.
Tesla has hiring inefficiencies leading to layoffs and layoffs inefficiencies leading to new hires.
It’s not a good look.
The only way I can get behind Musk on this is if Tesla’s financials are really in the dumpster. It doesn’t look that bad right now based on the financial statements, but it’s not impossible that Tesla has internal numbers, like orders coming in, that look awful.
Some of this reminds me of Tesla in 2019. Things were looking pretty good, but Tesla launched a huge cost-cutting effort. We later learned that Tesla was on the verge of bankruptcy because it didn’t anticipate how costly it would be to launch Model 3 in high volume in Europe.
The long transit time put a lot of financial pressure on Tesla, and the cost-cutting effort was intended to compensate for that – Musk didn’t communicate to shareholders until later.
Maybe there’s something similar going on that we don’t know about, but at the same time, Tesla is in a completely different situation right now, sitting on $27 billion in cash.
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Climate XChange’s Annual EV Raffle is back for the 10th year running – and for the first time ever, Climate XChange has two raffle options on the table! The nonprofit has helped lucky winners custom-order their ideal EVs for the past decade. Now you have the chance to kick off your holiday season with a brand new EV for as little as $100.
About half of the raffle tickets have been sold so far for each of the raffles – you can see the live ticket count on Climate XChange’s homepage – so your odds of winning are better than ever.
But don’t wait – raffle ticket sales end on December 8!
Climate XChange is working hard to help states transition to a zero-emissions economy. Every ticket you buy supports this mission while giving you a chance to drive home your dream EV.
Here’s how Climate XChange’s 10th Annual Raffle works:
The Luxury Raffle
- Grand Prize: The winner can choose any EV on the market, fully customized up to $120,000. This year, you can split the prize between two EVs if the total is $120,000 or less.
- Taxes covered: This raffle comes with no strings – Climate XChange also pays all of the taxes.
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- Ticket price: $250.
- Grand Prize Drawing: December 12, 2025.
- Only 5,000 tickets will be sold for the Luxury Raffle.
The Mini Raffle (New for 2025)
- Grand Prize: Choose any EV on the market, fully customized, up to $45,000. This is the perfect raffle if you’re ready to make the switch to an EV but aren’t in the market for a luxury model.
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- Ticket price: $100.
- Only 3,500 tickets will be sold for the Mini Raffle.
Why it’s worth entering
For a decade, Climate XChange has run a raffle that’s fair, transparent, and exciting. Every ticket stub is printed, and the entire drawing is live-streamed, including the loading of the raffle drum. Independent auditors also oversee the process.
Plus, your odds on the Luxury and Mini Raffles are far better than most car raffles, and they’re even better if you enter both.
Remember that only 5,000 tickets will be sold for the Luxury Raffle and only 3,500 for the Mini Raffle, and around half of the available tickets have been sold so far, so don’t miss your shot at your dream EV!
Climate XChange personally works with the winners to help them build and order their dream EVs. The winner of the Ninth Annual EV Raffle built a gorgeous storm blue Rivian R1T.
How to enter
Go to CarbonRaffle.org/Electrek before December 8 to buy your ticket. Start dreaming up your perfect EV – and know that no matter what, you’re helping accelerate the shift to clean energy.
Who is Climate XChange?
Climate XChange (CXC) is a nonpartisan nonprofit working to help states pass effective, equitable climate policies because they’re critical in accelerating the transition to a zero-emissions economy. CXC advances state climate policy through its State Climate Policy Network (SCPN) – a community of more than 15,000 advocates and policymakers – and its State Climate Policy Dashboard, a leading data platform for tracking climate action across the US.
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The CSC Monterey – one of the most charming little electric scooters on the US market – has dropped to a shockingly low $1,699, down from its original $2,899 MSRP. That’s nearly half off for a full-size, street-legal electric scooter that channels major Honda Super Cub energy, but without the gas, noise, or maintenance of the original.
CSC Motorcycles, based in Azusa, California, has a long history of importing and supporting small-format electric and gas bikes, but the Monterey has always stood out as the brand’s “fun vibes first” model. With its step-through frame, big retro headlight, slim bodywork, and upright seating position, it looks like something from a 1960s postcard – just brought into the modern era with lithium batteries and a brushless hub motor.
I had my first experience on one of these scooters back in 2021, when I reviewed the then-new model here on Electrek. I instantly fell in love with it and even got one for my dad. It now lives at his place and I think he gets just as much joy from looking at it in his garage as riding it.
You can see my review video below.
The performance is solidly moped-class, which is exactly what it’s designed for. A 2,400W rear hub motor pushes the Monterey up to a claimed 30 mph or 48 km/h (I found it really topped out at closer to 32 mph or 51 km/h), making it perfect for city streets, beach towns, and lower-speed suburban routes.
A 60V, roughly 1.6 kWh removable battery offers around 30–40 miles (48-64 km) of real-world range, depending on how aggressively you twist the throttle. It’s commuter-ready, grocery-run-ready, and campus-ready right out of the crate.
It’s also remarkably approachable. At around 181 pounds (82 kg), the Monterey is light for a sit-down scooter, making it easy to maneuver and park. There’s a small storage cubby, LED lighting, and the usual simple twist-and-go operation. And it comes with full support from CSC, a company that keeps a massive warehouse stocked with components and spare parts.
My sister has a CSC SG250 (I’m still trying to convert her to electric) and has gotten great support from them in the past, including from their mechanics walking her through carburetor questions over the phone. So I know from personal experience that CSC is a great company that stands behind its bikes.
But the real story here is the price. Scooters in this class typically hover between $2,500 and $4,500, and electric retro-style models often jump well above that.
At $1,699, the Monterey is one of the least expensive street-legal electric scooters available from a reputable US distributor, especially one that actually stocks parts and provides phone support.
If you’ve been curious about swapping a few car errands for something electric – or you just want a fun, vintage-styled runabout for getting around town – this is one of the best deals of the year.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss a big Tesla Robotaxi setback, the new Mercedes-Benz CLA EV, Bollinger is over, and more.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Climate XChange, a nonpartisan nonprofit working to help states pass effective, equitable climate policies. Sales end on Dec. 8th for its 10th annual EV raffle, where participants have multiple opportunities to win their dream model. Visit CarbonRaffle.org/Electrek to learn more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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