Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Friday in an email to all employees at the electric vehicle maker that the company will cut 10 percent of its contract workers and instead rely on more hourly workers.
Tesla shares fell 9% by mid-morning on Friday after Reuters reported earlier emails Musk sent to executives about his company's downsizing plans and expressed "horrible feelings" about the economy.
President Joe Biden was asked Friday about Musk's negative economic outlook after news of Tesla's layoff broke.
Biden said while Musk talked about fear and economic downturn, Ford increased its investment in building new electric vehicles with 6,000 new union workers in the Midwest.
The president also praised the former Chrysler Corp. Stellantis for similar investments in electric vehicle production in the US and Intel for creating 20,000 new computer chip manufacturing jobs.
"You know, good luck on his journey to the moon," Biden joked.
