San Francisco – Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said he has a "super bad feeling" about the economy and needs to cut about 10% of salaried staff at the electric carmaker, he said in emails, Reuters reported.

A message sent to executives on Thursday laid out his concerns and told them to "pause all hiring worldwide." The dire message came two days after the billionaire told staff to return to the workplace or leave and adds to a growing chorus of warnings from business leaders about the risks of recession.

In another email to employees on Friday, Musk said Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10%, as it has become "overstaffed in many areas." But "hourly headcount will increase," he said.

"Note, this does not apply to anyone actually building cars, battery packs or installing solar," Musk wrote in the email said Reuters.

Musk has warned in recent weeks about the risks of recession, but his email ordering a hiring freeze and staff cuts was the most direct and high-profile message of its kind from the head of an automaker, with others describing sky high demand.

Inflation in the United States is hovering at 40-year highs and has caused a jump in the cost of living for Americans, while the Federal Reserve faces the difficult task of dampening demand enough to curb inflation while not causing a recession.

It was also not immediately clear what implication, if any, Musk's view would have for his $44 billion bid for Twitter. U.S. antitrust regulators cleared the way for the deal on Friday, sending Twitter shares up 2%.
-Reuters