The world’s second richest man, Elon Musk, has made “things good” with a California bakery after his company, Tesla, cancelled an order of 4,000 mini pies, the Guardian reports. The saga played out on social media.
The owner of Giving Pies, Voahangy Rasetarinera, alerted the world via Instagram to the fact Elon Musk had backed out of its last-minute pie order – made on Valentine’s Day.
The French baker explained that, in order to fulfil the order, she had had to turn down catering inquiries for Black History Month, and purchase additional supplies for the massive quantity of pies required, for which she had not been compensated.
“To me, it was clear that Tesla’s corporate culture prioritised convenience over accountability, disregarding the livelihoods of small business owners like myself,” Rasetarinera said.
[See more: Honest Bakery’s Venus Kwan on her journey from teacher to pandan chiffon cake]
In her original post, she noted that the experience served as “a stark reminder of the vulnerability faced by small businesses when dealing with larger corporations” – especially small businesses owned by Black women.
Afterwards, Elon Musk acknowledged the situation on X, formerly known as Twitter (which he also owns). “Just hearing about this. Will make things good with the bakery,” he stated.
Rasetarinera later confirmed to the Guardian via email that “Tesla just paid the $2k that I was out of.”
Media coverage of the incident reportedly saw an influx of support for the bakery, with hundreds of customers queuing to buy Rasetarinera’s pies. On its website, the business describes itself as a “Silicon Valley favourite [for] handmade corporate pies.”
