According to reports, Tesla CEO Elon Musk's relationship with the media has not been so good that the automaker disbanded its public relations (PR) department two years ago, Musk and his Twitter account have since become the company's public voice channel. But some prominent Tesla backers, including financial analysts, are calling on Musk to re-establish his media relations team. Last week, Musk's remarks about layoffs were widely reported in the media, causing the company's stock price to fall sharply.
Given that Tesla has not responded to media inquiries about layoffs or filed a shareholder statement, doubts are beginning to arise about whether the company will be able to meet its growth goals in the current economic climate. On June 5, Gary Black, managing partner of The Future Fund, tweeted: "I've said many times about Tesla's refusal to make PR investments. If you're never really in the game, you're Can't complain about failing."
Musk himself clarified Tesla's stance over the weekend, saying its global workforce would not be significantly reduced. But the move is unlikely to undo the drop in share prices and damage the credibility of communications between the company and its shareholders.
Markets were already jittery before reports surfaced that Musk ordered employees to return to the office. After the report, Musk was asked by fans what he thought about employees who thought in-office work was outdated, and Musk responded: "If you want to pretend to work, they should go to other companies." That has led to speculation that Musk plans to cut jobs by encouraging the departure of some salaried employees, excluding those on the production line who are paid by the hour.
On June 3, it was reported that Musk sent an email to Tesla executives saying he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy and recommending a 10% reduction in global headcount. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, widely followed by Tesla investors, believes Musk’s email has broader implications for the industry. "If the world's largest EV company warns about jobs and the economy, investors should reconsider their profit margins and top-line growth expectations," he said in a research note. June 3 Tesla stock price It fell 9.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.5% on the day.
On June 4, Musk also said that the company would not undergo large-scale personnel changes, saying that "the overall number of employees will increase, and the number of salaried employees will be relatively stable." Financial analysts say that's more plausible, as the company is ramping up production at new plants in Berlin and Austin, as well as a major expansion in Shanghai. Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities, said on Twitter: "It's great to see Musk backtracking and now the company is moving forward."
On June 5, Tesla's layoffs finally ended. Some media published an article titled "Tesla optimizes operations by adjusting employee recruitment and layoff procedures," and Musk then called the content of the article "accurate." Some observers pointed out that the content of this article is very similar to the press release Tesla should have issued a few days ago.
