(Reuters) — Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk said the company cannot make new hires unless he personally approves them, according to a copy of the email seen by Reuters.
“No one can join Tesla, even as a contractor, until they get my email approval,” Musk said Monday.
According to the email, Musk told executives to send him a list of hiring requests on a weekly basis, also advising them to “think carefully” before sending such requests.
Last month, the company posted its lowest quarterly gross margin in two years, below market estimates, as it slashed prices in markets including the United States and China to stimulate demand and stave off growing competition.
Last year, Musk said he had a “super bad feeling” about the outlook for the US economy and planned to cut 10% of jobs at the company as a result. But then he clarified that the jobs being eliminated would be salaried jobs and that the company would continue to hire hourly workers as production ramped up at two new factories in Texas and Germany.
Tesla ended 2022 with 127,855 employees, about 29,000 more, or nearly 30%, over the previous year, according to a company document.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Musk named former NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s new CEO last week. She said Friday that hiring Yaccarino would allow her to spend more time running Tesla.
The billionaire is expected to address Tesla shareholders on Tuesday at the automaker’s annual meeting at its headquarters in Austin, Texas.
– ‘s Chris Isidore contributed to this report.
