From our friends at the Bits blog:

Last week, Tesla Motors, Silicon Valley’s favorite electric-car start-up, replaced its chief executive, laid off employees and delayed production of its second car.

On Friday, Elon Musk, Tesla’s new chief executive and its largest investor, elaborated on the turmoil at the company in an interview.

Mr. Musk said that 87 people — about a quarter of the company — were laid off in the current retrenchment.

He also said that the company’s second model, a battery-powered sedan called the Model S, was delayed because Tesla was having trouble raising the $100 million it needed for its next phase. Rather than turn entirely to current investors, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and former eBay President Jeff Skoll, Tesla decided to ratchet back the fund-raising and slow its expansion.