Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and wants to cut about 10 per cent of jobs at the electric car maker.
The message came two days after the world's richest man told employees to return to the workplace or leave the company.
Tesla employed about 100,000 people at the end of 2021, according to its annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
No one from the company was immediately available for comment.
In an email sent to executives on Thursday, titled “pause all hiring worldwide”, Mr Musk said he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy.
Tesla has raised the prices of its vehicles this year due to significant inflationary pressure on raw materials and logistics during the crisis in Ukraine.
It also stopped taking orders on its website for its eagerly awaited Cybertruck model outside the US, Canada and Mexico.
On Tuesday, Mr Musk told staff to return to the workplace or leave the company, a demand that has already faced pushback in Germany where the company has a new factory.
“Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week,” Mr Musk wrote in that email.
“If you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned.”
On Thursday, Mr Musk also engaged in a Twitter spat with Australia technology billionaire and Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar, who ridiculed the directive in a series of tweets as being “like something out of the 1950s”.
Mr Musk tweeted: “Recessions serve a vital economic cleansing function” in response to a tweet by Mr Farquhar, who encouraged Tesla employees to look into its remote work positions.
In late May, when asked by a Twitter user whether the economy was approaching a recession, Mr Musk said, “Yes, but this is actually a good thing. It has been raining money on fools for too long. Some bankruptcies need to happen.”
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
