Tesla stock drops as Elon Musk reportedly announces hundreds more layoffs including senior execs

• Tesla stock dropped as much as 5% on Tuesday amid reports of more layoffs at the company.

• Layoffs include senior executives and their teams overseeing charging infrastructure.

• The slump pared some gains from the previous day following optimism around Musk’s surprise China visit.

Shares of Tesla dropped as much as 5.5% on Tuesday amid reports that Elon Musk announced hundreds more layoffs, including two high-level executives.

Shares of Elon Musk’s company were trading 4.7% lower as of 1:40 p.m. in New York, at around $185 each. The loss eats into some of Monday’s big gain following the Tesla CEO’s trip to China.

The Information reported that the layoffs of hundreds of staffers include Rebecca Tinucci, who supervises the charging infrastructure, and Daniel Ho, an executive overseeing vehicle programs and new products.

Around 500 people from Tinucci’s division are set to be let go, and Tesla’s public policy team is being trimmed as well, with vice president Rohan Patel having left on April 15, according to Musk’s email cited by The Information.

The latest cuts add to Musk’s broad efforts to be “absolutely hardcore” about employee retention and budget reduction, as he said he would ask for quit letters from executives who keep “more than three people who don’t obviously pass the excellent, necessary and trustworthy test.”

Two weeks ago, Tesla cut over 10% of the company’s workforce globally, citing a “duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas.”

Following the slump in vehicle sales in the first quarter, the tech giant reported earnings per share that missed consensus forecasts, but delivered the news on a cheaper model that investors were looking to hear.

Tesla stock is down almost 30% since the beginning of this year, while its rating and price target were slashed by a number of Wall Street analysts.

Musk boosted investor optimism this week when he made an unexpected trip to China, the EV manufacturer’s second-largest market. The stock soared 12% on Monday in response to his visit, which culminated in reports that the company’s full self-driving technology could soon debut in the country.

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