Tesla has announced it will make another round of layoffs in the next quarter

Tesla is battening down the hatches against the possibility of a deteriorating economy, according to a new Electrek report. The automaker will make another round of layoffs in the first quarter of 2023, according to the blog's source, and will also freeze hiring at all levels - having just resumed hiring in the second half of 2022 after a previous freeze and a first round of layoffs in June.

Of course, macroeconomic conditions don't look set to improve anytime soon, which could certainly be reason for Tesla to implement measures to slow or reduce headcount spending. But the electric vehicle company is also facing additional pressures from the recent sharp drop in its stock price, which began in late September/early October and worsened further towards the end of October when Elon Musk finalized his acquisition of Twitter.

Musk recently said that the problem is a general issue with the stock market itself, stemming from rising bank account interest rates and general market volatility rather than a specific challenge to which Tesla is confronted. But critics still point out that Musk's general distraction has contributed to the company's poor performance with investors lately.