With a news backdrop of plunging stock returns and vandalized electric vehicles, billionaire businessman and White House adviser Elon Musk livestreamed an all-staff meeting with employees of Tesla.
Musk, the company’s CEO, told employees during the March 20 meeting to hold on to their stocks.
A Facebook post, however, quoted Musk as giving a much darker prognosis for the EV company.
“Tesla is finished,” the March 21 post quotes Musk as saying. The post links to an article that quotes Musk as saying, “Tesla is doomed — we can’t survive if we don’t make drastic changes immediately.”
The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
The post’s linked article was published on “Hot News Now US” and does not include a byline for the story’s author.
PolitiFact found no credible reports that Musk ever made this statement. A search of Musk’s social media accounts, public interviews, news and financial reports show no record that Musk ever said his company was “doomed” and needs “drastic changes immediately.” No other credible news outlet reported on the statement, either.
Musk in recent statements expressed a positive outlook on Tesla, despite negative market signals.
“There are rocky moments, like a little bit of stormy weather,” he said at the meeting. “But what I’m here to tell you is that the future is incredibly bright and exciting, and we’re going to do things that no one I think has even dreamed of.”
In its most recent quarterly earnings report, Tesla reported $25.71 billion in revenue during the last three months of 2024 — short of the $27.26 billion expected.
We rate the claim that Musk said “Tesla is finished” and needs “drastic changes immediately” False.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
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We found no evidence that Tesla CEO Elon Musk ever made these claims.
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Musk claimed in a March 20 meeting that Tesla’s future was "bright and exciting."
Statement
Context
in a Facebook postSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Facebook Post, March 21, 2025
NASDAQ, Tesla, March 24, 2025
Youtube, Tesla All-Hands Keynote Speech, March 20, 2025
Tesla, Form 8-k, January 29, 2025
CNBC, Tesla fourth-quarter results miss estimates as automotive revenue drops 8%, Jan. 29, 2025
Translations
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