Donald Trump: Elon Musk ‘Greatest Cutter’ for Tesla Job Cuts – More Layoffs Ahead?
Donald Trump has praised Elon Musk for his ruthless approach to Tesla job cuts. Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images.
Key Takeaways
- Donald Trump and Elon Musk discussed immigration, the economy and Musk’s approach to business management on Monday.
- As the CEO of Tesla, Musk has overseen 19,000 layoffs in 2024.
- Calling Musk, “the greatest cutter” Trump praised the Tesla boss’ tough stance on unionization.
Monday’s 4-hour bro chat between Donald Trump and Elon Musk offered a masterclass in flattery and ego-boosting.
Musk commended Trump’s bravery during his assassination attempt. Trump bigged up Musk’s management of X. And then, there was the former president’s comment about Musk being “the greatest cutter” in an apparent reference to Tesla layoffs.
Trump and Musk See Eye-to-Eye on Immigration, and the Economy
One of the main talking points during Monday’s interview was immigration, a topic on which Trump and Musk are closely aligned.
Illegal migration has driven up crime rates, South American countries are actively exporting criminals to the US and Kamala Harris has failed as a “border czar.” They are all claims that have been made before and have become familiar and unquestionable tropes for the Republican base.
For Trump, the anti-immigrant narrative has been a hallmark of his political career. But Musk has only become vocal about the topic in the last 4 years.
On the economy, Trump and Musk have both been critical of the Biden administration and blame inflation on government overspending. They are also both fiercely anti-union and believe organized labor inhibits growth.
Tesla vs. Labor Unions
Over the years, Musk has stamped out any signs of unionization at Tesla, threatening to remove stock options for employees who join a union and engaging in various legal disputes with United Auto Workers (UAW) over its efforts to unionize workers at the company’s Fresno factory
Despite the Fresno campaign and other efforts by UAW, United Steelworkers (USW), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Workers United, Tesla remains the only major car maker in the US without sizable union representation. The hardline strategy has allowed the company to fire 19,000 employees since the start of 2024.
Without mentioning the car maker by name, Trump was clearly impressed by how the Tesla boss dealt with the threat of strikes:
“You’re the greatest cutter,” he said. “I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in and you just say, you want to quit? They go on strike. I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, that’s okay. You’re all gone.”
The Future of Tesla Jobs
Tesla’s layoffs in 2024 have outpaced the 10% reduction the company announced to employees in April. Since the end of 2023, the firm has cut 14% of its global headcount.
Explaining the decision to staff in an email, Musk said there was nothing he hated more, “but it must be done”.
“We have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount […] This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle.”
The vast majority of Tesla layoffs have affected workers based in the US. Yet despite praising Musk for his ruthless approach to job cuts, Trump still insisted that “we want companies to build here, not to build in other locations. And we want to create jobs.”
Trump Tariffs Threaten Tesla Production
As part of his plans to reinvigorate US employment, Trump has promised to reinstate tariffs on imported goods.
For Musk, any such tariffs could force a change of direction in Tesla’s growth strategy. The company plans to build a new production facility in Monterrey, Mexico, which is expected to employ thousands of workers when fully operational. But work on the Monterrey gigafactory has been repeatedly held up, worsening Tesla’s ongoing production delays and slowing sales.
In a recent earnings call, Musk said the project was being placed on ice until after November’s election.
“I think we need to see just where things stand after the election. Trump has said that he will put heavy tariffs on vehicles produced in Mexico. So it doesn’t make sense to invest a lot in Mexico if that is going to be the case,” he said.
If Trump wins November’s elections, the isolationist logic underpinning his “America first” economic policy should, in theory, drive jobs back to the US. But if tariffs go too far, they may end up hurting Tesla and other auto makers’ competitiveness on the global stage and could have the opposite effect.
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