“I go where the problem is, essentially,” Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said on last week’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “This is unfortunate, [but] sometimes I don’t talk to Tesla’s executive team and [they are] like, ‘Hey, we don’t see you very often.’ That’s because your stuff is working awesome. You’re working really great.”
Musk is no stranger to making headlines. But lately, he’s making them for the way he’s tackling “problems” in Washington D.C., far from Tesla’s Austin headquarters.
That’s why we want to know what’s going on at Tesla these days. Or really, any operation under Musk’s purview. Do you work at Tesla, or did you until recently? Get in touch, because we want to hear from you.
Do you work at Tesla? We want to hear from you.
From a non-work device, you can reach me via Signal at patrickgeorge.100 or Senior Reporter Tim Levin at Tim_Levin.62. You can email us at team@insideevs.com, or more securely at insideevs@proton.me.
After all, at this point, it’s worth asking how the CEO whose presence is intrinsically tied to Tesla’s valuation is leading the company, and if it is on track to deliver some very lofty goals around robotics and autonomy in the coming months.
In the past three days alone, Musk—in his ostensible role as a “special government employee“—has reportedly seized access to the U.S. Treasury’s systems, gained access to classified information, and begun the process of closing down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). More government spending cuts are said to be on the way, despite legal concerns that these moves are being done well outside Congress’ normal budgeting and allocation process. And last night, the New York Times reported that Musk is “reveling in the trappings of the opulent Secretary of War Suite in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building” as he works with a cadre of young X and SpaceX veterans to target more federal spending.
It sounds like a lot of work for anyone, let alone someone who is the CEO of the world’s most highly-valued automaker—and five other technology companies as well.
Yet Musk’s foray into government comes at a precarious time for Tesla. Its annual sales were down for the first time ever in 2024. The new Model Y, the world’s best-selling EV and by some metrics its best-selling car, period, was introduced in recent weeks with no events or any other usual Tesla fanfare. The vaunted Cybertruck, once hailed by some Tesla fans as a vehicle that could totally upend the truck market, is not only sagging in sales but was not mentioned even once on last week’s earnings call.
Tesla is clearly betting big on AI, robotaxis and autonomy, despite a raft of concerns about their safety, viability and technological progress. EV competitors the world over are catching up. China’s BYD surpassed Tesla as the world’s top EV manufacturer last year too. And more and more Tesla buyers seem to be turning away from the brand, at least partially in response to Musk’s politics and public statements.
Yet as powerful and seemingly unstoppable as Musk is, the vast majority of his wealth comes from Tesla’s stock value—and Tesla seems to be in an unusually precarious moment.
At least, that’s the case from the outside. It is hard to parse, exactly, since this famously secretive company does not interface with the press in America. But we are eager to speak with those inside the company, or who worked for it recently, about how it is functioning with its CEO now taking such an active role in the White House.
If you’re interested in speaking with us, as current and former employees did during the charging team cuts last year, please get in touch. From a non-work device, you can reach me via Signal at patrickgeorge.100 or Senior Reporter Tim Levin at Tim_Levin.62. You can email us at team@insideevs.com, or more securely at insideevs@proton.me. We are happy to chat anonymously if necessary. We treat privacy as an utmost concern, and will take all reasonable steps to safeguard the identities of our sources.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
