Author: By NEAL E. BOUDETTE

The automaker said the 9 percent reduction, mostly limited to salaried employees, was part of a broad reorganization and would not affect production.

Elon Musk, the electric-car company’s chief, said Tesla would lose money and die if it began selling the cheapest version of its mass-market car too soon.

But the chief executive, Elon Musk, said the electric-car maker would be profitable in the second half of the year if it met its production goals.

The chief executive said the electric-car maker would be profitable in the second half of the year if it met its production goals.

The maker of electric cars expects to idle its assembly line for several days to clear impediments that have held production well below the company’s targets.

The electric-car maker said output of its first mass-market offering, the Model 3, was up to 2,000 a week. But that’s still short of the goal set by Elon Musk.

After teasing “important news” to come, he tweeted: “Tesla has gone completely and totally bankrupt. So bankrupt, you can’t believe it.”

Production delays and other problems have presented the electric-car maker and its founder, Elon Musk, with a crisis of confidence among investors.

The automaker plans to widen its range of sport-utility vehicles, including some all-electric or hybrid models, to better compete with rivals.