Thanks for the Pink Slip, Elon!

This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who’s ever used Twitter — or engaged with hardcore Tesla fans. What’s good for the automaker is apparently also good for its employees, even if they’re among the roughly 3,000 workers laid off this week as the company seeks profitability through restructuring.

Some employees are saying it’s a good thing Tesla gave them the heave-ho.

While there’s definitely a contingent that feels differently among the unlucky 9 percent of Tesla’s workforce, the fervent belief in Tesla-as-our-saviour means many took to Twitter to thank CEO Elon Musk for the opportunity to work for him. No flaming bag of dog shit on the front porch from this crowd.

“I was laid off from Tesla yesterday and although it hurts (a lot!), it is the right thing for the company,” said Twitter user @seekevinrun in response to Musk’s layoff announcement. “I don’t regret giving all I had and in a way bidding adieu is my last contribution. I’ll be cheering Tesla on knowing I did my part. Thanks for the years of memories!”

Bloomberg identified that user as now-former Tesla sales manager Kevin Throop, who told the publication, “People need to know that we need Tesla to succeed. It’s the front lines in the fight against climate change.”

Here’s another example. Note the word “mission.”

Despite the fact that many automakers offer electric cars, many of them cheaper and easier to source than a Tesla (the base $35,000 Model 3 isn’t expected to be built in large numbers until early 2019), Tesla devotees continue to believe that only a pure, untainted automaker like Musk’s can save the world. For many fans, purity trumps practicality (and maybe even reality) when it comes to electric cars.

Perhaps it’s a shallow status thing they can’t bring themselves to admit, but a Chevrolet Bolt or Nissan Leaf (or, heaven forbid, a Hyundai Ioniq) apparently won’t suffice. It often comes down to a “why have the rest when you can have the best?” argument, as if Mother Earth cares about the ability to adjust your dash vents via a touchscreen.

This level of devotion to one automaker and one man, Gene Munster of venture capital firm Loup Ventures told Bloomberg, is unheard of.

“The people thanking Elon for the opportunity to work there are authentic. It’s unprecedented,” he said. “One of Tesla’s secret weapons is the shared vision of clean energy, as well as how much people believe in Elon Musk and his leadership. It’s a unique asset for Tesla.”

If you need more proof of Tesla’s irritating disciples, the author of the Bloomberg piece, Dana Hull, was taken to task on Twitter for using the word “fired” in relation to the 3,000 job losses. What followed was a thread where two users, both investors, argued the author didn’t know the English language and will probably end up in the hospital as a result of “karma.”

Lovely.

[Image: Tesla]