The world’s largest vehicle maker by market value, Tesla, is set to lay off more than 10% of its global electric vehicle workforce.

According to a memo first reported by news website Electrek, billionaire owner Elon Musk told staff there was nothing he hated more, “but it must be done”.

Tesla had 140,473 employees globally as of December, according to its latest annual report.

However, Tesla has not responded to the BBC’s request for comment.

“We have done a thorough review of the organisation and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10% globally,” said the email from Mr Musk.

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“There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done. This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle.”

A Tesla employee who had been told he was being let go told the BBC he had subsequently been locked out of his emails, as had all other staff who had been laid off.

One of the executive team members, Andrew “Drew” Baglino, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday that he had made the “difficult decision” to leave the firm after 18 years.

Mr Baglino has served as senior vice president of Tesla’s powertrain and energy engineering team since 2019, according to Tesla’s website.