Tesla stock’s losing streak continues after report of hiring freeze, layoff plans

The scope of the hiring freeze and layoffs were not immediately clear. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Tesla and its subsidiaries had 99,290 full-time employees at the end of 2021.

Read more: Tesla stock closes lower than $150 for first time in more than two years as analysts say they can’t ignore Elon Musk’s Twitter ‘nightmare’ anymore

Shares fell 0.2% to 137.57 on Wednesday, their fourth consecutive daily decline and the 11th decline in the past 13 sessions. Shares have declined 12.7% collectively in the four-session losing streak, and are on track for their worst month, quarter and year on record from a percentage standpoint. Shares lost support at $150 Monday, which one analyst called “a critical battle line to defend beyond further weakness.”

Reuters reported in June that Musk said Tesla needed to cut roughly 10% of its salaried positions, saying he had a “super bad feeling” about the state of the economy.

Analysts have worried about waning demand for Tesla’s vehicles in China and competition from other electric-vehicle makers. Musk’s hefty sales of Tesla stock and distractions related to his ownership of Twitter have also caused anxiety for shareholders.

In-depth: Tesla investors await clues on demand, board actions and weigh downside risks in 2023

Tesla stock has declined 61% so far in 2022, as the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+1.49%
has dropped 18.6%. Shares have suffered the 12th worst percentage decline among S&P 500 constituents so far this year, according to FactSet, and the electric-vehicle company’s decline in market capitalization would be the fourth worst in the index, MarketWatch’s Phil van Doorn reported Wednesday.