Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, held an unexpected meeting with employees in Austin, Texas, where he encouraged them to keep their company stock despite a significant 40% drop in share price this year. During the meeting, which was streamed online late into the night, Musk reassured his team by saying, “Even during rocky moments and stormy weather, I’m here to tell you that the future is bright and exciting.”
Musk acknowledged the negative headlines surrounding Tesla, confessing that the news often made it seem like “Armageddon.” He mentioned the difficulties the company has faced, including vandalism incidents at charging stations and dealerships, and noted that the FBI is looking into multiple cases of fires in locations such as Las Vegas and Kansas City. These issues come alongside mounting political criticism of Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration, which has likely affected sales in important markets like Europe and China.
Despite these challenges, Musk highlighted Tesla’s ambitious goals for the future, particularly in autonomous vehicles and robotics. He revealed plans to ramp up production of Tesla’s upcoming autonomous Cybercab and offered an updated timeline for the release of the humanoid Optimus robot, predicting that it will be available to Tesla employees by the second half of 2026.
Musk also hinted at a potential move into aviation, sharing, “I’ve thought about aircraft designs for a long time,” suggesting that Tesla might work on an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, viewed the meeting as a crucial step for Musk to demonstrate his commitment to guiding Tesla through this challenging period. He had previously advised Musk to focus less on politics and concentrate on core business operations, describing the current situation as a “tornado crisis moment.”
