‘We can’t do that with Elon Musk as CEO’: Fired Tesla employee blames billionaire for tanking sales

Media7 May 13, 2025

A former Tesla manager has accused Elon Musk of halting the company’s growth, adding that he was fired for speaking the “truth”. Matthew LaBrot wrote an open letter titled “Tesla Employees Against Elon”, alleging that Elon Musk’s statement about cutting spending less time on DOGE and “focusing” more on Tesla is “tone-deaf and insulting”.

The internet is rife with speculations about Elon Musk and the future of Tesla. (REUTERS)

“I was fired from my dream job at Tesla. Pretty punchy headline, right? Unfortunately, it’s not clickbait, I was let go from Tesla nearly two weeks ago,” Matthew LaBrot wrote on LinkedIn.

“You might be asking, ‘How is that possible? Weren’t you and your team absolutely crushing it? Weren’t you revolutionising frontline Learning & Development programs, increasing engagement, improving knowledge retention, and fostering a renewed commitment to training across North America?’ The answer? Yes. Yes, we were,” he added.

LaBrot claimed that his or his team’s job performance had nothing to do with his firing, adding that he was terminated because he publicly spoke against Elon Musk.

“I support Tesla and its mission. I want that mission to grow and thrive. And I believe we can’t do that with Elon Musk as CEO. I didn’t take this stance lightly. I understood the risks, and I spoke out anyway. Because I believe in Tesla’s mission more than I fear its CEO,” LaBrot continued.

What did the manager write in his letter?

“The damage done to Elon’s personal brand is now irreversible and as the public face of Tesla, that damage has become our burden. We are now at a crossroads: continue with Elon as CEO and face further decline as customers abandon the brand, or move forward without him and allow our products and mission to succeed or fail on their own,” LaBrot’s site states.

“Elon’s recent claim that he is ‘refocusing’ on Tesla is not only tone-deaf, it’s insulting. It implies that the hardships of the past six months stem from a lack of his attention, not from his actions. It shifts the blame onto the very people who have held this company together. Let’s be clear: we are not the problem. Our products are not the problem. Our engineering, service, and delivery teams are not the problem. The problem is demand. The problem is Elon,” it continues.