Some Tesla staff formally requested for Elon Musk to resign as they confirmed the automaker is going through an enormous demand downside, which they attribute to the CEO.
One worker obtained fired for it.
Whatever the political spectrum, there’s little question that many Tesla staff nonetheless help CEO Elon Musk amid his excessive politicization, whether or not as a result of they agree together with his politics or as a result of they help his imaginative and prescient for Tesla to turn into an AI and robotics firm.
Nonetheless, not all Tesla staff agree.
There’s a rising motion inside Tesla staff that acknowledges that Musk is at present hurting Tesla’s mission to speed up the appearance of electrical transport by alienating a big a part of the patron base and politicizing Tesla’s merchandise.
In 2024, Tesla’s gross sales declined for the primary time in a decade, and in Q1 2025, the decline drastically accelerated.
Tesla has been attempting responsible the acceleration on the Mannequin Y changeover within the first quarter, however as we’ve extensively reported over the previous couple of months, there’s loads of proof that demand is crashing regardless of the brand new Mannequin Y’s availability.
Some Tesla staff acknowledge what is going on, and they’re afraid that the corporate is ignoring Musk’s damaging affect on demand.
A gaggle of present and former Tesla staff printed an open letter through which they wrote:
The injury executed to Elon’s private model is now irreversible and because the public face of Tesla, that injury has turn into our burden. We are actually at a crossroads: proceed with Elon as CEO and face additional decline as prospects abandon the model, or transfer ahead with out him and permit our merchandise and mission to succeed or fail on their very own.
They’re hoping for the latter to occur, however Musk and the board have fully ignored the demand downside.
The Tesla staff consider that Musk’s announcement that he’ll “refocus” on Tesla and spend much less time on DOGE throughout Tesla’s earnings name final month was an instance of that:
Elon’s latest declare that he’s “refocusing” on Tesla is just not solely tone-deaf, it’s insulting. It implies that the hardships of the previous six months stem from an absence of his consideration, not from his actions. It shifts the blame onto the very individuals who have held this firm collectively. Let’s be clear: we aren’t the issue. Our merchandise aren’t the issue. Our engineering, service, and supply groups aren’t the issue. The issue is demand. The issue is Elon.
The staff spotlight how EV gross sales had been up 10% in Q1 within the US whereas Tesla’s gross sales had been down 9%.
The group of staff can be not shopping for Tesla’s excuse that it was merely resulting from individuals ready for the brand new Mannequin Y as they now verify that hundreds of recent Mannequin Ys are actually sitting in stock:
Now these very automobiles are sitting unsold, rising week after week. Manufacturing is working higher than ever. High quality is excessive. Processes are robust. Demand is what’s damaged. This isn’t a product downside. It’s a management downside.
Electrek reported over the previous couple of weeks that new Mannequin Ys have been displaying up as stock autos regardless of Tesla opening up orders simply weeks in the past.
They’re formally asking for Tesla to maneuver ahead with out Musk as CEO
Tesla is able to transfer ahead. And we’re prepared to maneuver ahead with out Elon as CEO.
One of many Tesla staff behind the letter, Matthew LaBrot, has been let go, and he claims it’s resulting from his affiliation with the letter.
He printed it on a web site and stated on LinkedIn that he was let go due to it.
LaBrot had been at Tesla for greater than 5 years and he was “Employees Program Supervisor for Gross sales and Supply Coaching Packages” for the final 3 years.
A X account was additionally created to share the letter, however it was suspended by the platform, which is owned by Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist.”
Tesla’s demand points are getting so vital that the automaker informed staff at Gigafactory Texas engaged on the Cybertruck and Mannequin Y manufacturing strains to take a full week off.
Electrek’s Take
I’m joyful to see some Tesla staff difficult the false narrative that there aren’t any actual demand points. I favored how the letter framed the scenario. It made it clear that Musk is the supply of Tesla’s foremost issues proper now.
Ignoring Tesla’s issues with the hope that you’ll quickly work out self-driving, although you have got been incorrect about it for years, received’t make them disappear.
Sadly, Tesla is making it clear that injecting a dose of actuality into this narrative will get you fired.
It’s a very unhappy time for a once-incredible firm that had an enormous affect on the auto business and accelerated electrification.
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