Tesla Fires US Growth Team Created Only 4 Months Ago

Tesla recently laid off a newly formed advertising team as part of companywide job cuts. This move represents a departure from CEO Elon Musk’s decision to implement traditional advertising less than a year ago. As part of the layoffs, around 40 employees in the US “growth content” team were let go, including the senior managers overseeing the team. It is reported that a small number of marketing staff in Europe remain within the company.

Elon Musk expressed dissatisfaction with the work of the content team, stating that the ads produced were too generic and could have been for any car. This marks a significant shift from Tesla’s previous approach, which relied heavily on word-of-mouth and avoided traditional advertising channels such as television, radio, and print. Musk’s decision to explore advertising last year was in response to slowing global electric vehicle sales and the increasing competition in the market. The layoffs in Tesla’s growth team are part of the company’s largest-ever job cuts, which Musk announced would affect over 10% of the global workforce.

There are reports suggesting that Musk is pushing for a 20% reduction, potentially leading to more than 20,000 job losses. This news has impacted Tesla’s stock, which has fallen more than 40% this year, making it the second-worst performer in the S&P 500 Index.