Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, June 6 (TMTPOST) — Tesla China is still in need of professional talents and is hiring, Jiemian reported, quoting an insider at Tesla China.

“We haven’t heard anything about the layoff at the company. We were actually recruiting many people,” the source told Jiemian. “Tesla China has strict hiring standards. The company is still in need of talents.”

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said in an email sent to the company’s senior executive team that he has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and wants the company to lay off around 10% of its staff. 

"Note, this does not apply to anyone actually building cars, battery packs or installing solar," Musk wrote in the email seen by Reuters. In the email, Musk told the executives to "pause all hiring worldwide."

The financial statements that Tesla submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission show that as of late 2021 Tesla had 99,290 employees across the globe. If Tesla lays off 10% of its staff, nearly 10,000 people will lose their jobs.

Tesla's share fell by over 9% after the news about layoff broke out. Musk later clarified on social media that the number of Tesla employees will continue to grow while the number of salaried employees will remain largely unchanged.

Tesla China said that it does not have any comment on the news report on the layoff for the moment.

Tesla has been expanding its team globally in 2022. In 2021, the electric vehicle maker recruited 28,533 employees around the world, expanding the size of its staff by 40.3%. Most new positions were in Europe and China.

It is worth noting that Musk said in an email to employees across the globe that all employees are required to return to the office. “Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week. Moreover, the office must be where your actual colleagues are located, not some remote pseudo office. If you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned,” Musk said.