Tesla employees call for CEO’s resignation amid declining demand

A group of current and former Tesla employees has called for Elon Musk to resign as CEO, citing a significant drop in demand for the company’s vehicles, which they attribute to Musk’s leadership and politicization of the brand.

In an open letter, the employees voiced their concerns about Tesla’s dwindling sales and Musk’s controversial actions, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

 “The damage done to Elon’s personal brand is now irreversible and as the public face of Tesla, that damage has become our burden,” the letter states. “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.”

Tesla’s sales suffered a major setback in 2024, marking the first decline in a decade. The situation worsened in Q1 2025, with sales continuing to fall despite the launch of the updated Model Y. Tesla has attempted to explain the downturn by blaming the Model Y changeover, but employees are not buying the explanation. “Now those very cars are sitting unsold, growing week after week. Production is running better than ever. Quality is high. Processes are strong. Demand is what’s broken. This is not a product problem. It is a leadership problem,” the letter reads.

The group is particularly frustrated with Musk’s recent claim during Tesla’s earnings call that he would “refocus” on the company. “It implies that the hardships of the past six months stem from a lack of his attention, not from his actions,” they argue, emphasizing that the real issue is Musk’s leadership, not the company’s operations or products.

One of the employees, Matthew LaBrot, who had worked at Tesla for over five years, was dismissed after publicly supporting the letter. He published it on a website and said on LinkedIn that he was let go because of it.

Tesla’s declining demand has led to significant challenges, including a full week off for employees at Gigafactory Texas. Despite efforts to address the issues, the growing internal dissent highlights deepening concerns about Musk’s influence on Tesla’s future.

By Vafa Guliyeva