LOS ANGELES: Tesla’s chief executive officer told employees on Monday the company is undergoing a “thorough reorganization,” as it contends with questions over its production schedule and two crashes last week involving its electric, self-driving cars.
CEO Elon Musk said in an email that as part of the reorganization it was “flattening the management structure to improve communication, combining functions where sensible and trimming activities that are not vital to the success of our mission” in an email that was confirmed by Tesla after being disclosed earlier by the Wall Street Journal.
Musk said on a May 2 earnings call that the company was “going to conduct sort of a reorganization restructuring of the company ... this month and make sure we’re well set up to achieve that goal.”
He added that “the number of sort of third-party contracting companies that we’re using has really gotten out of control, so we’re going to scrub the barnacles on that front. It’s pretty crazy. You’ve got barnacles on barnacles. So there’s going to be a lot of barnacle removal.”
Tesla will still rapidly hire critical positions “to support the Model 3 production ramp and future product development,” Musk said in the email.
Tesla faces a variety of issues.
Investors gave a rare rebuke to Musk after he cut off analysts on the earnings call asking about profit potential, sending shares down 5 percent despite promises that production of the troubled Model 3 was on track.
In the latest of two reported crashes last week that have drawn attention, a Tesla Model S sedan was traveling at 60 miles per hour (97 km per hour) when it smashed into a fire truck stopped at a red light in South Jordan, Utah, about 20 miles south of Salt Lake City on Friday night, police said on Monday.
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said on Monday “at this point it doesn’t appear that NTSB is investigating” the Utah crash.
The Tesla driver suffered a broken ankle and was taken to a hospital while the firefighter was not injured, the police said.
Witnesses said the Tesla sedan did not brake prior to impact, police said in a statement, adding it was unknown if the Autopilot feature in the Model S was engaged at the time.
“Tesla has not yet received any data from the car and thus does not know the facts of what occurred, including whether Autopilot was engaged,” the company said in a statement on Monday.
The NTSB said last week it was investigating a Tesla accident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 8 that killed two teenagers and injured another — the agency’s fourth active probe into crashes of the company’s electric vehicles.
Autopilot, a form of advanced cruise control, handles some driving tasks and warns those behind the wheel they are always responsible for the vehicle’s safe operation, Tesla has said.
A US traffic safety regulator on May 2 contradicted Tesla’s claim that the agency had found that its Autopilot technology significantly reduced crashes.
Tesla shares dipped 0.3 percent to $300.20 on Monday.
Tesla planning ‘thorough reorganization,’ CEO Elon Musk says in email
Tesla planning ‘thorough reorganization,’ CEO Elon Musk says in email
Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves rise to a 6-year high of $475bn
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves climbed 3 percent month on month in January to SR1.78 trillion, up SR58.7 billion ($15.6 billion) from December and marking a six-year high.
On an annual basis, the Saudi Central Bank’s net foreign assets rose by 10 percent, equivalent to SR155.8 billion, according to data from the Saudi Central Bank, Argaam reported.
The reserve assets, a crucial indicator of economic stability and external financial strength, comprise several key components.
According to the central bank, also known as SAMA, the Kingdom’s reserves include foreign securities, foreign currency, and bank deposits, as well as its reserve position at the International Monetary Fund, Special Drawing Rights, and monetary gold.
The rise in reserves underscores the strength and liquidity of the Kingdom’s financial position and aligns with Saudi Arabia’s goal of strengthening its financial safety net as it advances economic diversification under Vision 2030.
The value of foreign currency reserves, which represent approximately 95 percent of the total holdings, increased by about 10 percent during January 2026 compared to the same month in 2025, reaching SR1.68 trillion.
The value of the reserve at the IMF increased by 9 percent to reach SR13.1 billion.
Meanwhile, SDRs rose by 5 percent during the period to reach SR80.5 billion.
The Kingdom’s gold reserves remained stable at SR1.62 billion, the same level it has maintained since January 2008.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserve assets saw a monthly rise of 5 percent in November, climbing to SR1.74 trillion, according to the Kingdom’s central bank.
Overall, the continued advancement in reserve assets highlights the strength of Saudi Arabia’s fiscal and monetary buffers. These resources support the national currency, help maintain financial system stability, and enhance the country’s ability to navigate global economic volatility.
The sustained accumulation of foreign reserves is a critical pillar of the Kingdom’s economic stability. It directly reinforces investor confidence in the riyal’s peg to the US dollar, a foundational monetary policy, by providing SAMA with ample resources to defend the currency if needed.
Furthermore, this financial buffer enhances the nation’s sovereign credit profile, lowers national borrowing costs, and provides essential fiscal space to navigate global economic volatility while continuing to fund its ambitious Vision 2030 transformation agenda.
