Tesla will cut 7 percent of its workforce as it tries to lower prices and break out of the niche-car market to produce an electric vehicle that more people can afford. Tesla’s cheapest model right now is the $44,000 Model 3, and it needs to broaden its customer base to survive. “Looking ahead at our mission of accelerating the advent of sustainable transport and energy, which is important for all life on Earth, we face an extremely difficult challenge: making our cars, batteries and solar products cost-competitive with fossil fuels,” CEO Elon Musk said in a letter to staff.