Tesla posts 800 job openings after biggest round of layoffs in company history

Tesla is reportedly seeking to hire around 800 new employees – just a few months after CEO Elon Musk reportedly slashed thousands of jobs in the company’s biggest-ever round of layoffs.

Hundreds of new roles have appeared on the Tesla website over the past few weeks, especially AI specialist and service roles, according to a Bloomberg analysis. 

Musk posted on X that both Tesla and xAI, his latest AI startup company, “are looking to hire networking engineers & technicians.”

The Austin-based company cut thousands of jobs – more than 10% of its workforce – in April as car sales tumbled.

In May, there were only three job postings on the Tesla career site.

Following a 20% sequential drop in quarterly car deliveries, Musk pushed to slash headcount by a similar percentage, Bloomberg reported.

That would have meant firing roughly 28,000 of the more than 140,000 employees Tesla started the year with, according to the outlet.

Now, Musk is looking to hire again – with an emphasis on AI and robotics, matching his new vision for the company. The job listings will also likely fill in some bald spots where Musk cut too many positions.

Tesla has hired back some laid off employees, particularly in its Supercharger organization, which is ramping up Tesla’s charging station network. A number of former employees have announced their return to the company on LinkedIn.

In April, Musk acknowledged in a post on X that other AI companies have been luring away some Tesla engineers “with massive compensation offers.”

The new job postings include listings across the country. Roles are not limited to just AI and energy, but also include construction, manufacturing, engineering and supply chain jobs.

There are at least 25 job postings related to self-driving Autopilot and at least 30 jobs related to Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, according to Bloomberg.

The open roles also include service technicians, who would likely work from Tesla showrooms, following mass cuts to showroom sales staff earlier this year.

Musk wants to foster a robust, online sales model that will allow consumers to buy Tesla vehicles with just a click – but the newness of EVs means many customers still have questions that would benefit from a salesperson. 

Mat Fisher, a former sales and service teams leader at Tesla, told Bloomberg he was surprised to see so many service employees laid off before the summer – a busy car buying season.

Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.

The mass layoffs came after the company posted its first year-over-year drop in quarterly car deliveries since 2020.

Tesla reported that it delivered 386,810 vehicles globally in the first three months of 2024 – down more than 9% from sales in the first quarter of 2023 and well below Wall Street expectations of 457,000 deliveries.

The EV maker’s value lies in its potential for autonomous vehicles – though Tesla still does not have a complete self-driving car.

Its latest self-driving models still require human supervision in case the need arises to step in and overtake driving controls.

Tesla continues to hold its stake as one of the largest EV manufacturers as it faces steep competition. 

Energy storage is another area of focus for the company, as it deployed nearly as many megawatt hours’ worth of energy storage products in the first half of this year as it did in all of 2023, according to Bloomberg.

Thus, the Tesla job openings include some energy-related positions. 

When Bloomberg reported last Thursday that the company would postpone its robotaxi unveiling, shares plummeted nearly 13%. 

Tesla shares jumped about 6% Monday morning to $264.22 before dipping back down to $254.78 Monday night. Shares dipped further to $250.40 Tuesday morning.

Musk – the richest man in the world with a net worth of $252.3 billion according to Forbes – has since confirmed that the reveal was delayed because he had asked for design changes and the teams were granted extra time to work on the vehicles.

The robotaxis are now set to be revealed in October.