Niklas quoted The Tesla Files by Sönke Iwersen
When an anonymous whistleblower and former Tesla employee approached Germany’s business newspaper Handelsblatt in November …
Trust, in Tesla’s framework, is a prerequisite for feedback and growth. Managers are told to cultivate it – to be open, receptive, and self-aware. But what happens when that principle is tested at the top? What does trust look like when the person in question is Elon Musk himself?
One barely noticed moment captures the answer with striking clarity. In October 2023, during an earnings call, Musk talks about Tesla’s bright future. But there’s one problem: no one can hear him. His microphone is muted. He keeps talking. And talking. Unaware that his words are going nowhere. On their screens, analysts can do little more than read his lips. Time passes. Still, no one interrupts. No one trusts that speaking up would be a good idea.
Eventually, someone at Tesla unmutes him. But no one dares to point out the issue. Musk continues as if nothing happened – he doesn’t repeat the start of his statement. In the transcript, where his opening should be, it now reads: ‘[Audio gap]’ or ‘[Call starts abruptly].’
A statement from the richest man on Earth turns into a farce – because no one speaks the obvious truth: he can’t be heard. The moment reveals just how deeply fear shapes the environment around him. Even during a routine earnings call, silence wins.
The episode recalls The Emperor’s New Clothes, a fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. In his story, no one dares to tell the ruler what’s plainly obvious: that he’s not wearing any clothes. Everyone stays silent – until a child speaks the truth. There were no children at that Tesla conference call. And Musk, it seems, surrounds himself with yes-men. The open feedback culture he promotes? If it exists at Tesla, it stops at the door to his office.
