On: Tesla fired an employee after he posted driverless tech reviews on YouTube

[_skel]

Putting yourself in a situation in which the public might assume you are speaking on behalf of your employer is unwise, unless speaking for your employer is your actual job. And even if it is actually your job, it's just common sense that you shouldn't publish content that makes your employer look bad.

It doesn't matter if you have "permission" or your managers are "aware of it." Permission can be revoked. Managers can change their minds or be overruled.

This is just how the world works. Maybe it's not how things should work, but it's reality. This guy learned that lesson the hard way.

[paxys → _skel]

The interesting thing is that Tesla doesn't have a public relations department (they were all fired in 2020). Reporters' queries all go unanswered. The only one who is authorized to speak on behalf of Tesla is Elon, and he does so mostly one-way through his Twitter account.

[mlindner → paxys]

Yes but none of what you said is relevant here. If Tesla wants to say nothing then Tesla wants to say nothing.

[tomrod → _skel]

How funny. Your last paragraph is very similar to something Dan Luu said in his most recent writing, on why we can't have nice things.

[rodgerd → _skel]

> And even if it is actually your job, it's just common sense that you shouldn't publish content that makes your employer look bad.

Given the output of the CEO of Tesla I feel like this would be a pretty amusing argument to make. "Do I make Tesla look worse than Elon does on a regular basis?"

[belval → rodgerd]

If Elon had a superior he would be fired over those tweets for sure, but the rules are different when you *own* the company.

[adfgadfgaery → belval]

The company is public. It has no single owner.

Musk is supposed to answer to the shareholders, but he's defrauded them on many occasions and the SEC doesn't seem to care.

[jazzyjackson → adfgadfgaery]

something of a stockholm syndrome isnt it, they are free to leave but they make too much money, and actually ousting the chief meme officer, I assume would crash the stock, perhaps only temporarily

[hackernewds → _skel]

I also wouldn't assume in their case, like many others, the risks outweigh the rewards. If they hadn't gotten fired it obviously worked.

They will profit financially from this - either directly by suing TSLA or indirectly from the infamy.

[joenathanone → _skel]

Can you point me to anywhere he claimed to speak on the behalf of Tesla? As a frequent viewer of his videos I'm not aware of him ever doing that. Didn't even know he worked for Tesla until this article.

[_skel → joenathanone]

> Can you point me to anywhere he claimed to speak on the behalf of Tesla?

That doesn't matter. People might think he spoke on behalf of the company even if he never said he did. That's why it's unwise to post things about your employer.