Becomes CEO, layoffs, closes office

Musk takes over as Tesla CEO and announces that the company will put its Model S sedan on hold, close the facility working on some of the sedan’s engineering, and lay off a number of people.  The company will focus on the Roadster and powertrains.  In a blog post, he blames the economy:

These are extraordinary times.  The global financial system has gone through the worst crisis since the Great Depression, and the effects are only beginning to wind their way through every facet of the economy. It’s not an understatement to say that nearly every business will be impacted by what has unfolded in the past weeks, and this is true for Silicon Valley as well.