Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has decided to let two top executives go while also cutting the EV company's entire supercharger team, according to reports Tuesday. TSLA shares sank Tuesday after surging more than 15% Monday.
Musk has dismissed Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of Tesla's supercharger efforts, and Daniel Ho, head of the new vehicles program, The Information reported Tuesday, citing an internal email. The report also said the Tesla chief was cutting the teams under Tinucci and Ho along with laying off its public policy employees.
"Hopefully these actions are making it clear that we need to be absolutely hard core about head count and cost reduction," Musk reportedly wrote in the email. "While some on exec staff are taking this seriously, most are not yet doing so."
Musk Focuses On 'Next' Growth Phase
After the market closed Tuesday, Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Tesla "still plans to grow the supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations."
Troy Teslike, a respected source of delivery estimates and Tesla data tracking among retail Tesla investors, posted to X Tuesday night that Musk's decision dismiss the supercharger team "seems impulsive and rushed."
"By letting them go, Tesla risk losing valuable know-how that could take years to rebuild," Teslike wrote.
This comes after Elon Musk decided earlier this month to lay off more than 10% of Tesla's global workforce, an effort to prepare for the "next phase of growth." Drew Baglino, who served as senior vice president of powertrain and energy, and Rohan Patel, vice president of public policy and business development, both departed Tesla around the time of those cuts.
Tesla stock fell 5.5% to 183.28 during market trading on Tuesday and continued to angle lower early Wednesday.
TSLA shares jumped 15.3% to 194.05 Monday, making a decisive move above a key resistance level after regulators in China tentatively approved the introduction of Full Self-Driving (FSD).
Since Tesla reported first-quarter earnings and revenue last Tuesday, TSLA shares have now gained about 27%.
Tesla Stock Performance
Last week, Tesla stock advanced 14.4% after hitting 52-week lows of 138.80 on April 22. The stock started Monday down more than 4% in April but ended the month with a gain of 4.26%.
After rallying following Q1 earnings, Tesla stock on Monday advanced past resistance at its 10-week moving average, according to MarketSurge analysis.
Tesla has struggled to retake this level for much of 2024. Breaking decisively above resistance could be a positive signal. If Tesla stock fails to reclaim its 10-week line, that declining marker could continue to act as a ceiling to the stock price.
Tesla stock ranks eighth in the 35-member IBD Auto Manufacturers industry group. The stock has a 46 Composite Rating out of a best-possible 99. Tesla stock also has a 26 Relative Strength Rating and a 63 EPS Rating.
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