Elon Musk Offers Tesla Workers Surprising Words of Encouragement, Will Meet Twitter Staff

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is seemingly trying to rally employees right and left. The richest man on the planet told employees that the electric vehicle (EV) company had a “very tough quarter,” but tried to bolster worker morale, according to leaked internal emails. Further, he will reportedly meet with Twitter staffers for the first time since the announcement of the chaotic $44 billion takeover deal.
Discover: Unplug These Appliances That Hike Up Your Electricity Bill
More: Top 10 Richest People in the World
Bloomberg reports that Musk attributed Tesla’s challenges to supply chain issues, and wrote: “This has been a very tough quarter, primarily due to supply chain and production challenges in China. So we need to rally hard to recover!”
According to Driveteslacanada.ca, which obtained the emails as well, Musk added: “I’d like to congratulate the Fremont team for achieving an all-time record production day last week and Berlin for making almost 1000 cars last week! This is great stuff. Shanghai is returning to full strength and Austin is spooling up. Onward to victory!!”
In a subsequent email, Musk wrote that Tesla employees are doing “pure goodness” and he has “infinitely more respect and admiration for you than the richest person on Wall St.”
This latest shift in tone comes in stark contrast to previous emails Musk recently sent to staff, telling them that remote work was no longer acceptable and that he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy.
Shares of Tesla have been struggling as of late, notably so since the $44 billion Twitter deal announcement. They are down 46% year-to-date and were down 7% in pre-market trading on June 14.
On June 10, Tesla finally revealed the long-awaited details of its 3-for-1 stock split in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The company also said that board member Larry Ellison would be stepping down and not be replaced.
Musk Will Meet With Twitter Staff
Separately, Musk will meet with Twitter employees on June 16, according to reports. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced the meeting in an email to staffers on June 13, saying they could submit questions for Musk in advance, per The Wall Street Journal.
POLL: Do You Have a Side Gig or Other Hustle?
Find: Elon Musk Forces Twitter’s Hand on Bot Data, Social Media Platform To Provide Full Access
The announcement of the meeting doesn’t clarify whether both sides have to come to an agreement regarding the number of Twitter spam and bot accounts — a contentious issue which has put the deal “on hold,” The Wall Street Journal added.
More From GOBankingRates