Elon Musk has promised yet another sprint of financial discipline at Tesla.
In an email to company employees Thursday, parts of which were published by the blog Electrek, Musk said Tesla had about 10 months’ worth of cash at its current burn rate to achieve breakeven. He also announced a new cost-cutting initiative in which executives including CFO Zach Kirkhorn would review every expense line in an effort to avoid unnecessary expenditures.
“This is hardcore, but it is the only way for Tesla to become financially sustainable and succeed in our goal of helping make the world environmentally sustainable,” Musk said, per Electrek.
Tesla’s finances have returned to top of mind for analysts and investors as the company slipped back into the red in its first-quarter earnings report in April. The company raised $2.7 billion in fresh capital earlier in May through a new sale of stock and debt, yet the stock has continued to sink as fears of waning demand creep into Wall Street analyst reports.
At an investor day in April, Musk pitched a vision for a million Tesla robo-taxis, telling investors on a call hosted by Goldman Sachs that the network was a way for the company to reach a market valuation above $500 billion.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. A source with knowledge of the email confirmed its authenticity.
Shares of Tesla fell more than 4% overnight and continued their slide in trading Friday, reaching their lowest price since January 2017.
In March, Tesla laid off about 8% of its workforce in a cost-cutting move, following a slightly smaller cull in payrolls in January. At the time of the January layoffs, Musk had said it was done so the company would “never have to do this again.”
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