By Hyunjoo Jin
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla CEO Elon Musk told employees on Monday that the electric vehicle maker is working on stock-based compensation for high-performing employees, according to two people who reviewed an internal memo.
The plan comes just days after Musk won shareholder approval for his $56 billion pay plan, consisting of stock options, and two months after he announced job cuts affecting more than 10% of Tesla’s global workforce in light of dwindling demand for electric vehicles and increasing price competition from Chinese rivals.
“In the coming weeks, Tesla will conduct an extensive review to provide stock option awards for exceptional performance,” Musk said in an email, according to the two people who reviewed it, who are based in China and the U.S. respectively. They declined to be named because the memo is for internal use.
“There will also be an ongoing program to award spot option grants to anyone who does something special for the company. Thank you for all you do to make Tesla successful,” the email said.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Tesla skipped merit-based stock awards to employees last year, people familiar with the matter said. Tesla’s margins took a hit last year from the company’s aggressive price cuts, aimed at reviving demand and fending off competition.
Since the start of 2024, Tesla shares have fallen 25% and the EV maker has warned of a sharp slowdown in sales.
(Reporting by Zhang Yan in Shanghai and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Jamie Freed)
