Following recent job cuts that saw 15,000 employees leave the company, some Tesla employees are blaming Elon Musk for the EV maker’s recent woes. A Tesla manager is quoted saying, “Musk is a pigeon CEO.”
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Yesterday, Tesla instituted the largest job cut in the company’s history. The job cuts are unprecedented in sheer number and as a percentage of the workforce.
In previous instances, Tesla has instituted job cuts that reached as high as 10%; however, the 10% number only involved salaried employees, translating to about 3% of the total workforce.
However, yesterday’s cuts saw 10% of Tesla’s workforce losing their job, or about 15,000 employees were let go simultaneously.
In addition to the massive number of employees fired yesterday, Tesla has significantly shaken up the executive team.
Two of Tesla’s top executives, Drew Bagilno, Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, and Rohan Patel, Head of Public Policy and Business Development, announced their resignations yesterday.
From all available information online, the circumstances in which these top executives departed the company seem amicable, with Elon Musk wishing them the best of luck.
However, several top executives who reported directly to Drew Baglino and Elon Musk also appear to have been let go, and their departure circumstances seem less than amicable.
This may be Elon Musk's next move.
Most of the firings among Tesla’s high brass appear to be concentrated on the struggling in-house 4680 cell production team.
Back in 2020, Tesla laid out jaw-dropping aspirations to enter the battery cell production business with a revolutionary new cell that would increase energy density by 54%, decrease capital expenditure by 69%, lower cost per kilowatt hour to well below $100, and be a much superior battery overall to anything found on the market.
In addition to the technological and financial breakthroughs, Tesla’s new 4680 cell was supposed to be more environmentally friendly, eliminating the use of several toxic agents from the production process and significantly cut water and power consumption.
Tesla planned to scale 4680 cell production to over 100GWh by 2022 and grow that number to over 2000GWh by 2030.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Tesla’s proclaimed revolutionary 4680 cells have not only failed to scale to the numbers initially hoped but have also disappointed in critical energy density and charging speed variables.
For example, the 4680-based Tesla Model Y AWD has a heavier battery pack than equivalent Model Y variants with 2170 packs. Not only that, the now discontinued 4680 Model Y AWD has a lower peak charging speed with a subpar charging curve.
The same applies to the Tesla Cybertruck which is powered by the 4680 cells. Not only has Tesla failed to deliver the 500-mile EPA range version of the truck, but the longest-range Cybertruck variant clocks in at only 340 miles.
Given all the unachieved goals and unmet promises on the 4680 cell front, various reports have come out stating that Musk, unhappy with the performance of the battery cell production team, has decided to fire multiple high-ranking individuals in the department.
Reports state that most senior executives working under Drew Baglino, who is in charge of the in-house battery cell team, have been let go, along with the 15,000 Tesla employees who lost their jobs yesterday.
Given that the 4680 cell team has significantly underperformed the rest of Tesla’s businesses, one would assume Musk was right in firing the individuals responsible for the project.
However, those recently fired do not agree with Musk about who is to blame for the 4680 cell debacle or any ongoing issues at Tesla.
Tesla executives who spoke to the EV reporter Fred Lambert seem to put the blame back on Elon Musk.
Recounting a conversation he had with a Tesla manager who was fired yesterday, Fred writes the manager described Musk to him as a “pigeon CEO” – “He comes in, Sh*t all over us, and goes.”
Given the lack of details, it’s impossible to say whether Tesla is right to fire the manager or if the issue lies with Musk.
A few days ago, after Tesla posted a 20% decrease in quarterly deliveries, several prominent Tesla investors blamed Elon Musk’s online antics for damaging the EV maker’s brand and resulting in the lower sales.
Musk harshly responded to these accusations, even going so far as to hurl insults at one prominent Tesla investor.
Musk is by no means a regular CEO; the serial entrepreneur spends most of his online hours sharing memes and his take on the latest political hot topic.
Given Elon’s unorthodox behavior, it is easy to side with the fired manager and blame Musk for Tesla's shortcomings.
However, it’s good to remember Musk’s track record before doing that. During his long career, Elon has created and grown five completely desperate companies to a more than a billion-dollar valuation.
In this aspect, Musk might be the greatest entrepreneur alive. And if creating 5 billion dollar companies is not enough, Musk's SpaceX is valued at more than $150 billion, and Tesla is worth over $500 billion.
Having said that, there are reasonable concerns that Musk might need to be more focused to run Tesla. Currently, Musk is playing a significant role in transitioning Twitter (X) from a simple social media website into the “everything app.”
Musk also has another venture, X.ai, which is trying to create artificial general intelligence. As if all this wasn’t enough, Musk is also the CEO and Chief Technology Officer at SpaceX, which is trying to develop the largest rocket in history and make humanity a multi-planetary species by settling on Mars.
Add to this Musk’s involvement in the Boring Company and Neuralink, then legitimate questions could be raised about whether Elon has enough time to work on Tesla.
Is Tesla Better Off If Elon Musk Left the Company?
This is the big question. Given his multiple engagements, the obvious answer is that Tesla would benefit greatly if Musk were replaced with a CEO who can give all his attention to the EV maker.
However, given Musk’s years of experience and unmatched track record as an entrepreneur, finding someone who can fill his shoes will be almost impossible.
So what is the solution? Ideally, for Musk’s and Tesla investors’ sake, Musk should unload some of his responsibilities at his other ventures and commit more time to Tesla.
Luckily for Tesla investors, there are signs that Musk is looking to do just that after the recent firings. Currently, the situation at Tesla doesn’t appear as smooth sailing as it was a year ago; however, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on how Musk and the Tesla team respond to the upcoming challenge.
Until then, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.
Your Turn
So, what do you think? Are you surprised to see recently let-go Tesla executives disparage Elon Musk? Also, where do you place the blame for some of the challenges currently present at Tesla? Please, click on the Add New Comment red link below to add your comment.
Image: Courtesy of Tesla, inc.
For more information, check out: Elon Musk Says “There’s Nothing More I Hate, But it Must Be Done” as He Announces a Massive 15,000 Employee Tesla Job Cut – Adds “It is Very Difficult to Say Goodbye”
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.
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First I admit that I have…
First I admit that I have been an enthusiastic fan of Musk, The whole current situation is a very common one in this industrial business, that is when a visionary boss outlines the product as one revolutionary in trade, the real development works are done by those workers under him, and most likely many of them are less visionary and/or motivated than their boss, plus other factors such as basic material's performances are less than expected, the products can suffer the consequences. Plus other factors such as EV market in general may not have matured and less popularity of it among public. The owner of company's choice is limited to scale the operation down or quit altogether. Ordinarily the blame goes to the originator. But the public must view the whole business in perspective, and give a serious look at what Musk has done in the past and projected in the future as rare visionary of our time for the future of mankind.
A visionary in the fields of…
A visionary in the fields of vaporware, over promising, and under delivering. He has done nothing more than talk out his ass you little Elon cock sucker.
He’s become the Emperor with…
He’s become the Emperor with no clothes.
Each time I watch fan boys, stupidly cheer him on when he needs balanced minded, logical, strong minded people to reel in his shit ideas.
However his toxic personality is causing this phenomenon where all the most basic of people around him turn into yes SchMen.
Not truly hyper intelligent person would be idiotic enough to surround themselves with Yes men.
There’s no one that has your back.
What a nightmare @_@
I bet you don’t have a Tesla…
I bet you don’t have a Tesla or driven one As you are certainly not knowing what you are talking about. I have two Teslas and they are the best cars I ever had. Far better than German, Japanese and Korean for sure. So shut the F up and go drive a Tesla.
Like 1.8 million EVs sold in…
Like 1.8 million EVs sold in 2023 is vaporware , while GM sells all of about 75,000.
Like announcing that M Y would be the most sold car IN THE WORLD is vaporware, right
Like taking over the whole space launch business with more than 300 Space X launches is vaporware, right ?
I don't know why the "moderators" let completely delusional and disingenuous message as yours be published !
Musk does not design rockets…
Musk does not design rockets, cars, satellites, or any of his myriad accomplishments. Rather, he hires and inspires and funds others to achieve their best work.
This action, along with his insistence of a $56B compensation bonus will greatly harm that capability.
"give a serious look at what…
"give a serious look at what Musk has done in the past and projected in the future as rare visionary of our time for the future of mankind."
You really are blind. He stole credit for the original X from his brother, Bought into Tesla after the fact, Is nothing more than a cheerleader for SpaceX despite pretending he is somehow involved in design (he has an honorary degree in economics bought for him by Peter Thiel. He couldn't STEM if his life depended on it), failed with Solar City, failed with The Boring Company, failed with the Cybertruck, is tanking Twitter, and according to Bloomberg is failing with Starlink.
He did not 'create' Tesla. …
He did not 'create' Tesla. He was just a man with money and that is his most useful quality.
Without Musk Tesla would've…
Without Musk Tesla would've been another Canoo Lordstown or Mullen.
Musks early accomplishments…
Musks early accomplishments which were many now appear to be overshadowed by his many poor decisions and chronic micromanagement. Nowadays his involvement seems more destructive than beneficial. The Tesla ship is sinking.
Musk must go. No one wants…
Musk must go. No one wants to work for this narcissist. He's full of himself. Herman Dietz former head of Volkswagen would be great. We want a full-time CEO, not a part-time one. Plus Musk wants to pay himself a ton of money. Forget that it doesn't help us. Tesla stocks have lost over 35% of their value YTD
Musk. He's a mediocre…
Musk. He's a mediocre engineer. Hapless manager. And a retarded version of Donald Trump, as if that was possible.
I was a huge fan of Elon…
I was a huge fan of Elon until we started to learn about his conspiracies. Desperately wanted to buy a Tesla once they had manufacturing glitches under control. Then he started attacking those most likely to buy his product. Instead, bought two EVs from a competitor. Couldn't be happier, yet sad that my feelings about Musk trumped my love of Teslas.
I think we've hit the point…
I think we've hit the point of diminishing returns with Elon at Tesla. His stubbornness of making Tesla's weakest point, FSD, into the main focus is a symptom of this. So is the need to get rid of stalks. Pushing the Cybertruck instead of a more mass market EV that will help us get to EV critical mass. Everything is about fitting his view of how everything should work instead of what will help us get to a clean energy future.
I think it's time to move on, let Elon continue to be a great entrepreneur, and get a grown up in to run Tesla.
Start ups need “crazy…
Start ups need “crazy geniuses” who take Big Risks. Mature companies need focus execution. More then the number of corporations he runs - he’s trying to run way too many businesses: Electric cars, Batteries, charging network, AI, rocket, space internet, tunneling, neural links, social media, robots…. Nobody can run 10 businesses in 10 competitive industries and stay on top of all the technology, market and political dynamics in all 10. He should take Larry Ellison’s advice and go detox in Hawaii for 2 weeks, Then hand off all but the car company and the rocket company where he’s totally changed those industries for the better already. Otherwise he’ll wind up like Nikolai Tesla - alone and broke in a hotel room in NYC.
What few people understand…
What few people understand is that Musk is a very smart guy with huge confidence and a checkbook.
The world is literally awash in brilliant people but few have the combination of arrogance, good luck and cash that Musk enjoyed to reach a place where his weaknesses overcome him.
The apotheosis of Musk is the usual mistake that far too many make in their assessment of prominent figures. This is most obvious with people’s obsession with celebrity. Famous people, whom we do not know, present a curated story designed for admiration.
Musk’s money windfall at the moment just before the dotcom bust meant that he was anointed a “genius”.
His purchase of Tesla was a recognition of the vision of the company founders. His building of Tesla was a consequence of management by screaming and fundraising by methods that bordered on criminality.
Few witnessed the internal storms that imperiled Tesla before they emerged into the blue skies of the Model 3 introduction. On many occasions they had only a a few days of cash on hand yet through Musk’s braggadocio and aggressiveness they were able to secure funding to see them through.
However we are now in a position where the companies need a focused manager; not some “pigeon” manager that shouts at workers rather than listening.
He is a perfect example of Dunning-Krueger effect whereby a person presumes expertise beyond their capabilities. This is not uncommon among many financially successful people who figure that it was their genius that created their success and thus they are competent to opine or perform in fields they have little experience in. We have endless examples among the wealthy declaring “solutions “ to immigration, the economy and foreign policy when they have near zero understanding.
Musk is in that position today. He does not understand social media nor does he understand the needs of a company that faces normal market adversity as a major player in the market.
All the world would be better off displaying a bit more skepticism towards leaders and especially “geniuses”.