Tesla sellers awaited the advice of business leaders on vandalism and demonstrations outside the exhibition halls. On the eve of more than 200 planned events, they received a video featuring a senior executive encouraging them to “remain vigilant” in the middle of a “dynamic and rapid environment”.
The video, a copy of which was seen by Business Insider, was described as an end -of -neighborhood reflection. He presented smiling workers, promotional images of Optimus and Robotaxi, and a dog in the front of a vehicle.
In this document, Troy Jones, vice-president of North American sales and services, described sellers as the “heart of the company”. He encouraged workers to watch each other and “remain vigilant”.
“If you notice something that doesn’t seem fair, don’t hesitate to speak,” said Jones. “Your security is the top priority. We are used to being in the spotlight, and in this dynamic and fast environment, please stay passionate about our customers and work together in a team.”
“Your energy, your efforts and your determination give the pace for the rest of the business,” said Jones. “We have an incredible opportunity in front of us. Each conversation, each relationship is our opportunity to share our leading product with the world.”
“This is only the beginning, and I am so excited by the future,” he said.
Earlier this month, the company sent a separate end-of-quarter video featuring Jones. He did not mention the demonstrations.
Seven sellers, who occupy some of the roles most accessible to the Tesla public, told BI that the company had recently provided employees with general security guidelines who do not address the demonstrations directly.
A worker called the most recent video in “disappointing” Jones.
“It was a bit trivial,” said the worker. “Like that. Really?”
A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comments. Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
A wave of protests and vandalism
The video was shared with American sales staff Friday evening, less than 24 hours before a World Action Day Organized by the group of Tesla Takedown activists. More than 200 protests were planned in the United States.
Since early February, there has been a rash non -violent demonstrations and attacks on Tesla property involving Molotov cocktails, criminal fire and gunshots. The FBI recently launched a joint working group in response to vandalism, and the prosecutor General Pam Bondi called the incidents of “domestic terrorism”.
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, addressed public vitriol during Press the appearances and a Surprise All-Hands Meeting on March 20comparing the upheaval to “Armageddon” and encourage employees to “Hang on to your stock.” Apart from that, the automaker did not send internal advice on the scale of the company that directly discussed incidents, Business Insider employees told employees.
In March, the company sent memos on how to manage the police and encouraged staff to examine the security guidelines and to contact Tesla Security for questions involving vandalism or intrusion.
On March 20, Tesla told sellers that he would start to activate the Sentry mode – which allows sensors and cameras of a vehicle to record the activity, even when it is not used – on vehicles in sales centers. The workers were informed of the change several hours after musk poster About the update on X.
The sellers turn to local councils
Some sellers counted on store advice. They told Bi that they had said store directors to avoid engaging with demonstrators and taking measures only if the demonstrators were doing something illegal.
“General guidelines seem to be to leave these conversations as quickly as possible because it will not advance the activities,” said a seller.
Five workers said they had dealt with demonstrators in their establishment, and six said they should have faced an increase in farce calls and dissatisfied customers.
Four said they felt that they had been left mainly in darkness. One of them said they had not been uncertain about how to interact with customers and demonstrators of their sales center, who has experienced several events in recent weeks.
The automaker had also not referred to the reaction in regular internal communication with its sales teams.
Newsletters, which are sent to sellers twice a week, are often used to set up uniform practices in sales centers and provide politics updates. Since the start of the demonstrations, none has directly recognized the incidents. Newsletters focused on reminders of federal tax credits and discussion points for Tesla Cybertruck recall and the new Y model.
The car manufacturer also has bimonthly sales calls with several hundred workers, including store managers and employees at the level of the director. In the past two months, there has been no mention of demonstrations in sales calls, said a worker at BI. Calls were focused on establishing customer relations and preparing for the end of the quarter.
Tesla also sends sellers who talk about points about how to answer questions about the recent Cybertruck reminder in Robotaxi. The company had not sent discussion points on how to contact customers who have questions about Musk or demonstrations, seven workers said.
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