Elon Musk, who used to sleep on the Tesla factory floor to meet production demands, is now shifting focus to managing sales in North America and Europe. As the business moves past its previous production limitations, this change represents a substantial shift in Tesla’s strategy. Previously, Musk’s choice to sleep at the factory represented his resolve to increase output and satisfy Tesla’s constantly rising demand. But now, the business is dealing with a new problem: sales difficulties.
Compared to the early days of production bottlenecks, Tesla’s factories now run at roughly 50% capacity. Despite this, the business has been experiencing a drop in sales, which many blame on Musk’s contentious social media posts and controversial political involvement. Although the Model Y switch was cited as the reason for Tesla’s first quarter struggles, the company’s second quarter results are anticipated to reflect similarly subpar performance. This indicates more serious problems than just production hold-ups.

Given these difficulties, Musk dismissed Omead Afshar, his former chief of staff, who had been in charge of managing Tesla’s operations in North America and Europe. Since the CEO now has direct control over the sales efforts in these crucial regions, Musk appears to be blaming Afshar for Tesla’s poor sales performance. Musk already has a lot of responsibilities, including running SpaceX, X, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. This move adds to that.
In the meantime, Tom Zhu, who was instrumental in Gigafactory Shanghai’s success, will continue to lead Tesla’s manufacturing operations in North America. Zhu’s efforts haven’t been without difficulties, though, especially in China, where Tesla’s sales have drastically decreased.
It is still unclear if Musk’s sales involvement will improve Tesla’s current problems or turn the company around. Even though he might be attempting to place the blame for Tesla’s declining sales elsewhere, his management style and impact on the business are unavoidable.