Electric Car Manufacturer Tesla To Cut Number Of Full-Time Workers By 7% - Firm CEO

US electric car manufacturer Tesla will reduce the number of full-time employees by 7 percent in an effort to produce more lower-priced Model 3 cars, Elon Musk, the company CEO and co-founder, told the staff, according to an email published by Tesla press service on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) US electric car manufacturer Tesla will reduce the number of full-time employees by 7 percent in an effort to produce more lower-priced Model 3 cars, Elon Musk, the company CEO and co-founder, told the staff, according to an email published by Tesla press service on Friday.

"We unfortunately have no choice but to reduce full-time employee headcount by approximately 7% (we grew by 30% last year, which is more than we can support) and retain only the most critical temps and contractors. Tesla will need to make these cuts while increasing the Model 3 production rate and making many manufacturing engineering improvements in the coming months," Musk's email read.

The company CEO explained that the company's third quarter profit of 4 percent was partly the result of selling more expensive Model 3 variants in north America, while preliminary fourth quarter results indicated the profit would be lower than in the previous quarter.

'This quarter, as with Q3, shipment of higher priced Model 3 variants (this time to Europe and Asia) will hopefully allow us, with great difficulty, effort and some luck, to target a tiny profit. However, starting around May, we will need to deliver at least the mid-range Model 3 variant in all markets, as we need to reach more customers who can afford our vehicles. Moreover, we need to continue making progress towards lower priced variants of Model 3," Musk said.

Earlier in January, Musk said Tesla would no longer take orders for cheaper � 75 kWh versions � of Model S and Model X.