Tesla tells Model Y and Cybertruck workers to stay home for a week

Absolutely, if Elon had been a normal CEO, Tesla would probably still be riding on the reputation they had few years ago.
What I'm saying is that it will be hard for Tesla to make a comeback, even if they somehow manage to restore the name.
They are no longer a technology leader, and they aren't leading on value either, which makes Tesla just one among many options.
And it seems they can't keep up with the competition anymore, now that the traditional auto makers have learned the basics of making a good EV. And China is so far ahead on batteries and Fast Charging it isn't even funny.
Both BYD and CATL have batteries that can charge 3 times faster than the fastest Tesla!

In USA Tesla is protected by tariffs, So USA has lower competition, but in Europe and China, I don't think Tesla has much of a future, (EU has 3 times as many BEV models to choose from than USA!) and even USA will be a a huge uphill struggle, because they have such poor brand recognition.
I don't think Musk can turn Tesla around, the claimed options to do that are RoboTaxi, and AI and robots. But Tesla is not even close to be leading in any of those fields. So Tesla will be a company with huge R&D costs, but little money coming in. Unless Musk can keep conning new investors of course.

I am a cynical bastard, and I wonder if they told everyone that they were one of the people not being let go, then contacted them later to tell them everyone was being laid off.

It gives the workers a -temporary- feeling of relief. Which could stop a riot etc etc.
And it's so very dishonestly devious that it's deffo something that Felon Mucks would do, just because he can.

It was probably when their "founder" did two Nazi salutes on stage at the inauguration of the President of the United States.

It’s not paid time off.

Edit: I used to work a salary position in Texas. On slow days it was common to tell the hourly employees we had nothing for them right now and to go home. The salary employees always had something to do.

The workers, who are paid hourly, were told they could either take paid time off or come in for cleaning and training but would not be working on the production line.

That wording is ambiguous, but given the alternative is "come in and do cleaning" my guess is "take paid time off" means workers have to burn their own vacation time if they don't want to lose money. Otherwise, who in their right mind would volunteer to work if the company is offering paid furlough?

The article says it is paid…

Well, yes and no. I mean, they get a paycheck if they use paid time off, but they'd need to use some of their supply of that, which is going to compete with things like time off for being sick, going on vacation, etc.

Take paid time off (PTO) means take your vacation time (or combined vacation/sick time). Otherwise no one would pick the "come in and clean or train" option.

I once worked at a place where every year they shut down the week between Christmas and New Year's and you had to take a week of your vacation time then whether you wanted to or not (and we only got 2 weeks/yr). I started working there the first week of December, so I was immediately in the hole for 1 week of vacation time. It was such bullshit.

Why? Are Texans stupid?

I expect whoever runs that is really good at trading.

Now THAT is how much power musk has! Destroying a huge ev brand with only one arm gesture! /s

Photo edited? What's the icon on the bottom left?

Tesla told Austin workers on its Model Y and Cybertruck lines to stay home for the week of Memorial Day, three workers told Business Insider.

Setting aside the Musk/Trump shennanigans and their impact on the Tesla brand as a whole, though...they're also talking about the Cybertruck.

I can believe that maybe they keep demand for the Model Y at a sustained long-term level, but I have a hard time believing that the Cybertruck is going to take off. I mean, if there's enough commonality across lines, then maybe they can use the Cybertruck workers elsewhere, but I just don't think that the Cybertruck is going to become a big success.

Like, at some point, they gotta cut their losses on that thing.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/tesla-cybertruck-sales-musk-b2746688.html

Tesla Cybertruck sales underperformed in Q1, dropping more than 50 percent compared to sales in Q4 of 2024, reflecting a larger theme for the electric vehicle maker, which has faced market volatility and decreasing sales as its CEO has taken a role in the Trump administration.

In the last quarter, Tesla sold roughly 6,400 Cybertrucks – more than double the number from the same time last year but significantly fewer than the 12,900 sold in the final quarter of 2024, according to research firm Cox Automotive.

It’s the second consecutive quarter Tesla has seen a dip in Cybertruck sales. Sales peaked during Q3 of 2024 with roughly 16,600 sold.

The Cybertruck was introduced to the electric vehicle market in 2023, and at the time, Musk touted that more than one million people had paid a $100 refundable deposit to reserve one.

It also dropped production targets for several Cybertruck lines over the last few months, workers familiar with the matter told Business Insider. Production lines have reportedly also been thinned out; now, some are said to be working at a fraction of their previous capacity.

Choosing to do so at a time convenient to you is something I can understand. For the benefit of your employer, no.

Paid time off (PTO) is what American companies call paid vacation because they don't offer paid sick leave. You have to use vacation time if you want to get paid for a sick Day