Former Tesla manager blames Elon Musk for his termination

In a surprising twist, a former Tesla staff programme manager, Matthew LaBrot, has claimed that he was fired for speaking out against Tesla CEO Elon Musk's leadership and its impact on the company's sales.

LaBrot, who joined the Musk-owned car company in 2019, anonymously created a website called "Tesla Employees Against Elon" where he shared an open letter calling for new leadership.

LaBrot noted that Musk's controversial views and actions have significantly damaged the company’s brand, contributing to its plummeting sales.

As a part of his protest against Musk, LaBrot also spray-painted his Cybertruck with the website's information and parked it outside a Tesla facility.

However, the next day, he received a call from HR informing him of his termination, allegedly due to using company resources to build the website.

Notably, LaBrot's criticisms are supported by Tesla's struggling sales and financial performance.

The company's net income plummeted by 71%, with tens of thousands of unsold cars piling up in dealerships. 

In the US, Tesla's sales fell by 9% in the first quarter, while overall electric vehicle (EV) sales rose by 28%.

Tesla also experienced its first annual decline in sales in 2024, with a 37% drop in European sales in the first quarter of the year.