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Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) shares rose 1.78% to $252.64 in premarket trading Tuesday, as the electric vehicle maker began a new hiring push focused on artificial intelligence and robotics roles. This comes just months after CEO Elon Musk ordered mass layoffs following disappointing first-quarter deliveries.

Tesla’s Recent Mass Layoffs in Early 2024

In early 2024, Tesla missed vehicle sales expectations by the widest margin ever, with quarterly deliveries dropping 20% sequentially. In response, Musk ordered layoffs of approximately 20% of Tesla’s workforce, affecting around 28,000 employees.

The Supercharger division, comprising about 500 employees, was almost entirely eliminated. Rebecca Tinucci, head of the charging division, was fired after disagreeing with Musk on further cuts. These layoffs disrupted ongoing Supercharger expansion projects and relationships with partners, with Tesla instructing contractors to halt new construction and materials purchases.

Tesla Hiring for AI and Robotics

Despite recent cuts, Tesla is now looking to hire nearly 800 new employees, with job postings steadily appearing on the company’s careers page.

Many new roles focus on AI and robotics, including for products like the Optimus humanoid robot. At least 25 jobs are related to self-driving development or Autopilot, while at least 30 positions are focused on the Optimus project.

This hiring push reflects Musk’s vision of Tesla as more of an AI, robotics, and sustainable energy company. The EV firm competes for AI talent with other Musk companies like xAI and rivals such as OpenAI. The company is also hiring for energy storage, sales, and service positions, with some former Supercharger employees being rehired. New hires are spread across multiple Tesla locations in the U.S.

Tesla stock is trading 26.2% above the average analyst target price of $200.16, with a market capitalization of $805.719 billion. While the company’s year-to-date return of 1.67% underperforms the S&P 500, Tesla’s five-year return of 1,446.27% significantly outpaces the broader market.

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