Tesla's substantial pie order leaves Silicon Valley bakery owner at risk of going under

The Giving Pies is a cherished bakery in Silicon Valley, United States. Its owner, Voahangy Rasetarinera, reported that Musk's company, Tesla, placed an order for roughly 2,000 pies on February 14th for a Black History Month event. However, this order may now force Rasetarinera out of business.

In a Facebook post, The Giving Pies’ disheartened owner revealed the details of her engagement with Tesla. On Valentine's Day, she received a promising quote request from Laura, a Tesla employee, for a large order of mini pies. This quantity was supposed to be delivered on the following Tuesday and Thursday [February 20 and 22]. However, complications started when the payment process was shifted to a Tesla vendor named City Flavor.

Rasetarinera conveyed her distress when payment for the order did not materialize on February 15. She posted: "Laura called me at 6:05 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, February 15. She apologized for the payment delay due to a new team member at their supplier's end. Then, she requested to double the order size and pack the pies in two-piece boxes, assuring cost was not a concern."

The reassured bakery owner decided to proceed. "Despite the late notice, my team gave me confidence that they could manage the expanded order". On February 16, Rasetarinera submitted an updated invoice to Tesla, requesting payment by noon to ensure she had sufficient resources for production.

She wrote that she had turned down other catering opportunities related to Black History Month to fulfill Tesla's order. She purchased ingredients, made arrangements for an intensive production schedule and when the agreed-upon payment window lapsed without official transfer, she tried to reach Laura, who failed to respond to her call. Soon, Rasetarinera reportedly received a text message from Tesla's worker saying, "the plan has changed and Tesla no longer requires the order". "I committed time, resources, and efforts based on Tesla's commitments, only to be left hanging," Rasetarinera expressed.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s owner, responded to the issue on February 23 by acknowledging a post on portal X describing the baker’s situation. Musk wrote: "I just learned about this. I will look into the bakery's situation. People should always be able to rely on Tesla doing its best." The portal nypost.pl stated that Rasetarinera had not yet received any direct communication from Musk by the evening of February 24.