Musk vows to pay for Tesla’s canceled order from S.F. bakery
Elon Musk has promised to “make things good” with a Bay Area baker who was left with an unpaid bill worth thousands after Tesla abruptly canceled an order last week.
Voahangy Rasetarinera, the owner of Giving Pies in San Jose, shared on her social media channels that a Tesla representative placed a last-minute order for $16,000 of handmade pies to commemorate Black History Month.
However, the order was canceled just before it was scheduled for delivery and despite sending several invoices, Rasetarinera said she never received payment for the unclaimed order.
On her Facebook page, the bakery owner expressed her frustration, stating, “This abrupt reversal left me reeling, realizing the extent of the impact on my small business. I had invested time, resources, and effort based on assurances from Tesla, only to be left high and dry.”
The Giving Tree, Rasetarinera’s business, boasts a clientele that includes major Silicon Valley companies such as Apple, Meta and Google, as well as organizations like the San Francisco 49ers, according to its website.
Rasetarinera said that when she inquired about the payment with the Tesla representative, they told her that the decision to cancel the order came from a higher-up.
“To me, it was clear that Tesla’s corporate culture prioritized convenience over accountability, disregarding the livelihoods of small business owners like myself,” she wrote.
But late on Friday, Musk appeared to address the situation.
In response to a tweet sharing the story on his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), Musk wrote, “Just hearing about
this. Will make things good with the bakery. People should always be able to count on Tesla trying its
best.”
It was not clear if the Tesla CEO reached out to Rasetarinera directly.
An outgoing message on the Giving Pies business line said they are unable to answer calls due to the high volume of interest in the story after it went viral: “So sorry for the inconvenience but know that we appreciate your support.”
Earlier this month, the San Francisco landlord of X filed a lawsuit seeking $13.6 million from the Musk-owned company to refill a line of credit after it said the company failed to pay rent at its headquarters.