Tesla told managers to identify critical team members, and paused some stock rewards while cancelling some employees’ annual reviews, according to the report, which added that the firm also reduced production at Gigafactory Shanghai.

The world’s largest auto-maker by market value had 140,473 employees globally as of December 2023, according to its latest annual report. The reported cuts will affect about 15,000 workers.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla, which is set to report its quarterly earnings on April 23, reported a decline in vehicle deliveries in the first quarter, its first in nearly four years and also below market expectations.

Meanwhile, the company has scrapped plans to produce an inexpensive car, abandoning one of Musk’s long-standing goals to make affordable EVs for the masses.

Tesla shares were down 0.6% in premarket trading today.

After years of rapid sales growth that helped turn Tesla into the world’s most valuable automaker, the company is bracing for a slowdown in 2024.

The EV maker has been slow to refresh its ageing models as high interest rates have sapped consumer appetite for big-ticket items, while rivals in China, the world’s largest auto market, are rolling out cheaper models.