Tesla has fired a recently formed marketing team as part of its broader company restructuring, marking a shift from its previous emphasis on traditional advertising efforts approved by CEO Elon Musk less than a year ago.
The entire U.S. “growth content” team, comprised of approximately 40 employees under the leadership of senior manager Alex Ingram, has been fired as part of the ongoing job cuts, according to individuals familiar with the situation.
Ingram and Jorge Milburn, who headed the global team, were both let go, the sources said. The company maintains a small marketing team in Europe. There were also significant layoffs in Tesla’s design studio and staff located in Hawthorne, California, said the people, who asked not to be identified, discussing private information.
The cuts mark a pullback from Tesla’s nascent advertising initiatives
In response to a Bloomberg report, Elon Musk commented on the work of the content team, stating, “The ads were far too generic – could’ve been any car.”
The cuts mark a pullback from Tesla’s nascent advertising initiatives. The company had previously refrained from using television, radio, print, or online ads, relying heavily on word-of-mouth to build its brand.
However, Musk announced last year that Tesla would “try a little advertising and see how it goes.” Ingram began building the growth team approximately four months ago. As global electric vehicle (EV) sales growth has slowed and more competitors have entered the market, investors have increasingly urged Musk to focus more on marketing.
Tesla’s move into advertising has also coincided with Musk’s acquisition of the company formerly known as Twitter. The social media platform sought to stem a sharp decline in ad revenue, driven by major brands’ unease over content moderation and Musk’s own sometimes controversial posts.
The restructuring of Tesla’s growth team highlights the wide-reaching impact of the company’s largest-ever job cuts, which Musk announced last week would affect over 10% of the global workforce.
Bloomberg’s recent report suggested that Musk is aiming for a 20% reduction, potentially leading to the elimination of more than 20,000 jobs. Tesla’s stock fell by 3% at 12:20 pm on Monday in New York, continuing its decline this year, with shares down over 40%, making it the second-worst performer in the S&P 500 Index.