Elon Musk Has to Settle Brouhaha Over Pie

Tesla backed out of a big bakery order that went viral, and CEO ponies up
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 27, 2024 12:22 PM CST
Elon Musk Settles a Bakery Brouhaha
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is seen at the AI Safety Summit on Nov. 1 in Bletchley, England.   (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Elon Musk had to eat something decidedly less delicious than pie—namely crow—after the Tesla CEO's company stiffed a small San Jose bakery on a big order. As NBC Bay Area reports, Tesla had ordered 4,000 mini-pies from the Giving Pies bakery to honor Black History Month, then canceled the order at the 11th hour, leaving the bakery to eat not only the $16,000 contract, but about $2,000 in out-of-pocket costs. Owner Voahangy Rasetarinera says she got a call from a Tesla rep for the sweet order on Feb. 14, and she rearranged staff schedules, ordered supplies, and turned down other catering gigs—just to receive a text two days later canceling the order. What's a small-business owner to do but take to social media to complain?

The response attracted the attention of patrons, media, and eventually Musk himself. Patrons, including San Jose's mayor, lined the block, people sent in donations, and Musk said he'd settle the bill. "Just hearing about this," he posted on X. "Will make things good with the bakery. People should always be able to count on Tesla trying its best." "Oh my gosh, it's incredible," Rasetarinera tells NBC. "I am blown away. I'm like, 'I didn't do it for that.' I'm so grateful. It's amazing. People are amazing." Tesla itself offered up another order of 3,600 mini-pies, notes the BBC, but Rasetarinera is so busy with all the new business she had to turn it down. "I really don't have any time for them," she tells ABC7. (More Elon Musk stories.)

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