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Amid The Drop In Sales And The Worst Image Crisis Of The Decade, Tesla Employees Directly Accuse Elon Musk Of The Company’s Bad Phase. Open Letter Triggers Dismissals And Raises Debate About The Future Of The Automaker.
Tesla Employees Dismissed: Tesla Is Experiencing One Of Its Most Turbulent Moments Since Taking The Lead In The Electric Car Revolution. After Reporting Its First Annual Sales Decline In Over A Decade, The Company Now Faces A New Challenge: Internal Dissatisfaction Among Its Own Employees, Who Point To CEO Elon Musk As The Main Responsible For Tesla’s Weak Sales Performance.
Behind The Scenes At The Automaker, There Is A Growing Perception That Musk’s Public Image — Marked By Controversial Statements, Political Involvement, And Dispersed Focus — Is Harming The Company’s Reputation, Driving Away Potential Customers And Demotivating Professionals.
The Discontent Became Apparent With An Open Letter Published By A Group Of Current And Former Tesla Employees, Who Decided To Break The Silence And Expose The Leadership Crisis Within The Company. The Content, Although Not Officially Signed By All Involved, Was Publicly Represented By Former Sales Manager Matthew LaBrot, Who Was Dismissed Shortly After The Publication.
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“Elon Is To Blame For Tesla’s Weak Sales Performance,” Say Employees
The Tone Of The Letter Is Direct: “The Damage To Elon’s Personal Image Is Irreversible. As The Face Of Tesla, This Damage Has Become Our Burden.” For The Employees, The Crisis Is Not Technical, Nor Production-related — It Is A Reputation Crisis. According To The Group, The Company Is Losing Sales Not Due To A Lack Of Vehicles Or Quality Failures, But Due To Rejection Of Musk Himself.
“Production Is Going Well. Quality Is High. Processes Are Solid. What Is Broken Is The Demand. This Is Not A Product Problem, It Is A Leadership Problem,” Says One Of The Passages Of The Document. The Statement Reinforces The Idea That Consumers Are Opting For Competitors Not For Technical Reasons, But For Image Issues During The Weak Sales Performance Of Tesla.
According To The Employees, Musk’s Behavior On Social Media, His Controversial Remarks, And Parallel Business Decisions — Such As Involvement In Cryptocurrencies And Ideological Statements — Are Undermining Consumer Confidence In The Tesla Brand.
First Annual Sales Decline For Tesla In A Decade
The Data Supports The Internal Dissatisfaction. Tesla Closed The Year 2024 With The First Annual Decline In Sales Since Establishing Itself As A Global Leader In Electric Vehicles. The Decline Was Pronounced In The First Quarter Of 2025, When The Company Saw Its Delivery Numbers Plummet Compared To The Same Period The Previous Year.
The Official Explanation From Tesla Was The Transition Of The Production Line For The Model Y, One Of Its Best-Selling Models. However, The Employees Themselves Dispute This Version, Claiming That There Are Thousands Of Units Stocked, Ready For Delivery — But With No Buyers.
From The Employees’ Perspective, What Was Once A Company Desired By Consumers Engaged With Innovation And Sustainability Now Faces A Growing Disinterest From The Public — Something That Intensified As Elon Musk Started To Make Headlines With Topics That Are Outside The Automaker’s Scope.
The Letter That Triggered Dismissals
The Open Letter Not Only Generated Global Repercussions, But Also Resulted In Immediate Dismissals Within Tesla. Matthew LaBrot, One Of The Authors And Former Sales And Delivery Programs Manager, Was Discharged Shortly After Identifying Himself As Part Of The Group.
Additionally, The X Account (Formerly Twitter) Used To Disclose The Document Was Suspended — Precisely On The Platform Controlled By Musk, Who Usually Declares Himself A Radical Defender Of Free Speech.
The Movement Caused Outrage Among Employees And Activists. For Critics, LaBrot’s Dismissal And The Account Removal Are Acts Of Corporate Censorship. For Tesla Defenders, It Is An Expected Reaction Given A Direct Attack On The Company’s CEO.
Elon Musk Promises To “Refocus” — But Remarks Do Not Convince
In Recent Months, Elon Musk Has Stated That He Intends To “Refocus” His Efforts At Tesla, Reducing His Attention To Parallel Projects Such As Dogecoin, Social Media, And Artificial Intelligence Companies. However, For The Employees, These Statements Are Empty In Light Of The Impact Already Caused By His Public Stance.
“We Are Not The Problem. Our Products Are Not The Problem. The Problem Is Elon,” Reinforces The Letter. For The Employees, It Is Useless To Promise Focus If The Brand Is Already Suffering From The Effects Of An Accumulated Wear And Tear That Is Hard To Reverse.
Amid The Controversy, Tesla Has Instructed Workers At The Gigafactory Texas, One Of The Brand’s Main Production Units, To Take A Week Off. According To Reports From International Outlets, The Break Was Not For Maintenance Or Collective Holidays, But Due To Lack Of Demand.
This Decision Contrasts With The Scenario A Few Years Ago, When Tesla Faced The Opposite Problem: Waiting Lines, Insufficient Production, And Delivery Delays. Now, The Company Is Dealing With The Challenge Of Balancing Full Stocks And Idle Factories.
Board Remains Inert
The Big Question That Hangs In The Air Is: What Will The Tesla Board Do In The Face Of Such Instability? So Far, The Board Has Not Officially Commented On The Content Of The Letter Nor On The Dismissals Associated With It.
According To Internal Sources, Some Board Members Fear That Removing Elon Musk Could Undermine Market Confidence, Given The Billionaire’s History As Founder And Main Face Of The Company. On The Other Hand, Other Directors Are Beginning To Consider A Gradual Transition Of Leadership, Especially If The Numbers Continue To Fall.
The Talent Exodus Threat
In Addition To The Decline In Tesla’s Sales, Another Side Effect Is Worrying The Sector: The Possible Exodus Of Talent From The Company. With The Internal Climate Deteriorating And The Feeling That Constructive Criticism Is Punished With Dismissal, The Risk Of Engineers, Executives, And Experienced Professionals Seeking Shelter In Competing Companies — Such As Rivian, Lucid Motors, Or Even Traditional Companies Like Ford And Volkswagen, Which Are Increasingly Investing In The Electric Sector — Is Growing.
“Tesla Is Ready To Move Forward. And We Are Ready To Move Forward Without Elon As CEO,” Closes The Employees’ Letter. The Message Was Clear: The Image Crisis Has Turned Into A Leadership Crisis — And Now, It Threatens To Become A Human Capital Crisis.
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