Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Tesla: Hundreds complain about phantom braking - as Elon Musk says he has 'bad feeling' about economy

Tesla: Hundreds complain about phantom braking - as Elon Musk says he has 'bad feeling' about economy

The US car safety regular is investigating the issue, which causes the car to suddenly stop. It comes as Tesla's founder Elon Musk said the company needs to cut 10% of jobs and has ordered a hiring freeze.

Hundreds of Tesla owners have complained to the US regulator that the cars operating on the partially automated driving systems have suddenly stopped for no reason.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said they are investigating the issue, which has been reported by 750 people, as the company's founder Elon Musk said he has a "super bad feeling" about the economy and needs to cut 10% of jobs.

NHTSA asked Tesla to send all consumer and field reports about false braking, as well as reports on crashes, injuries, death and property damage claims.

It has also asked whether the company's "Full Self Driving" and automatic emergency braking systems were active at the time of the incidents.

The agency said its investigation into phantom braking in Tesla's Model 3 and Y started last February after getting 354 complaints.

The probe covers the 2021 and 2022 model years.

It comes as Musk sent a message on Thursday to staff, titled "pause all hiring worldwide" and came just 48 hours after the billionaire told staff to return to the office or leave Tesla.

According to the company's annual SEC filing, almost 100,000 people were employed by Tesla and its subsidiaries at the end of 2021.

Sky News has contacted Tesla for comment.

Tesla's share price fell nearly 5% in US pre-market trade on Friday and its Frankfurt listing was down 3.6%.

Its US Nasdaq futures turned negative and were trading 1% lower.

In recent weeks, Musk has warned about the risks of a recession, but his email ordering a hiring freeze and staff cuts were the most direct and high-profile message from the head of a carmaker.

Demand for Tesla cars have remained strong, but it has struggled to restart production in Shanghai after 1COVID1 enforced lockdowns.

Before Musk's warning, Tesla had about 5,000 job postings on LinkedIn, from sales in Tokyo and engineers at its new Berlin Gigafactory to deep learning scientists in Palo Alto.

It had scheduled an online hiring event for Shanghai on 9 June on its WeChat channel.

On 1 June it was reported that Musk had told Tesla staff to stop working from home.

"Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean minimum) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla," the chief executive said in the message to staff, which was circulating on social media.

While the authenticity of the memo has not been verified and the electric car company has yet to issue an official response to queries about it, Musk did reply to one Twitter user who asked him for "any additional comment to people who think coming into work is an antiquated concept?"

"They should pretend to work somewhere else," the billionaire tycoon replied.

Musk would "review and approve" any cases where workers could not meet the minimum, according to the memo.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×