Elon Musk to Tesla employees: "There are rocky moments, stormy weather but I’m here to tell you the future is..."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk urged employees to retain their company stock despite a 40% drop in share price this year, during an unannounced all-hands meeting Thursday evening in Austin, Texas. "There are times when there are rocky moments, a little bit of stormy weather but I'm here to tell you the future is bright and exciting," Musk told employees during the streamed meeting that ran late into the night.
The billionaire acknowledged negative press coverage amid a series of challenges facing the electric vehicle maker. "If you read the news, it feels like Armageddon," he said. "I can't walk past a TV without seeing a Tesla on fire."
Tesla has faced vandalism at charging stations and dealerships, with the FBI investigating multiple incidents including fires in Las Vegas, Kansas City and Missouri. These attacks come amid growing political backlash against Musk's role in the Trump administration, contributing to sales declines in key markets like Europe and China.
Despite these setbacks, Musk emphasized Tesla's ambitious plans for autonomous vehicles and robotics. The company aims to scale production of its future autonomous Cybercab to "new heights," and Musk revealed an updated timeline for the humanoid Optimus robot, projecting availability to Tesla employees by the second half of 2026.
The CEO even hinted at potential expansion into aviation, saying, "I've thought about aircraft designs for a long time," and suggesting Tesla might develop an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives described the meeting as a "first step for Musk to show he is going to lead Tesla through this tumultuous period," though he had previously urged Musk to step back from politics and refocus on Tesla's core business amid what Ives called a "tornado crisis moment."