A Tesla engineer and manager was fired from the company after calling out Elon Musk for his “Nazi joke” on X, reported New York Times (NYT). The layoff came after the employee shared a LinkedIn post criticising the tech billionaire for referencing Nazi leaders in a pun-filled post he shared on X.
What did Elon Musk share?
Musk, during Donald Trump’s post-ceremony rally, took the stage and ended his brief speech by beating his chest and throwing his arm out straight. This led to a widespread backlash on social media, with many comparing the Tesla boss’ gesture with that of a Nazi salute. Musk shared his "Nazi joke" post mocking the criticism.
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What did the Tesla employee post?
Jared Ottmann, who worked with Tesla’s battery suppliers, shared a post in January expressing how Musk’s joke offended him. “Well, we have seen it coming. Elon’s behavior, whatever the underlying motivations, are well documented,” he wrote.
In the following lines, he added, “Starting in 2022 and especially the last week I’ve raised the issue internally multiple times, with managers, HR, legal compliance, investor relations. And while overwhelmingly people offer personal support, Tesla as a company has remained silent.”
{{/usCountry}}In the following lines, he added, “Starting in 2022 and especially the last week I’ve raised the issue internally multiple times, with managers, HR, legal compliance, investor relations. And while overwhelmingly people offer personal support, Tesla as a company has remained silent.”
{{/usCountry}}“This post by Tesla’s current CEO name drops genocidal a**holes as a joke and has 308,000 likes. The silence from Tesla is deafening,” he continued.
Here’s what he posted:
Previous instances:
According to the outlet, this is not the first time a company owned by Elon Musk has punished an employee for criticising their boss. In 2022, nine employees were fired from SpaceX after they asked the company to distance itself from Musk's remarks on social media, where he mocked posts on sexual harassment accusations against him.
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Reportedly, he also fired employees at X after they criticised him during his $44 billion takeover of the company, previously called Twitter, in 2022. As per the outlet, during a recent internal meeting, several workers voiced their dissatisfaction and frustrations concerning Elon Musk’s political activities.