Tesla Manager Was Fired After Speaking Out Against Musk's Nazi Salute

Tesla manager Jared Ottmann was fired in a "retaliatory" move for calling out CEO Elon Musk for name-dropping Nazi murderers—and Tesla for staying silent.

Last month, Ottmann, a longtime Tesla engineering manager, took to LinkedIn to publicly condemn his employer. He shared a screenshot of Musk's tweet, laced with antisemitic wordplay:

"Don't say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Göring your enemies! His pronouns would've been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming," Musk wrote.

Alongside a link to an article detailing Musk's history of antisemitic rhetoric, Ottmann expressed his frustration with Tesla's inaction:

"Well, we have seen it coming. Elon's behavior, whatever the underlying motivations, are well documented (https://lnkd.in/gcUCzRxy)," he wrote. "Starting in 2022 and especially the last week I've raised the issue internally multiple times, with managers, HR, legal compliance, investor relations. And while overwhelmingly people offer personal support, Tesla as a company has remained silent. This post by Tesla's current CEO name drops genocidal assholes as a joke and has 308,000 likes. The silence from Tesla is deafening. What's a mensch to do?"

His comments came after Musk was seen making a stiff right-armed gesture at Trump's inauguration, a motion widely deemed as a Hitler's Nazi salute.

Tesla employees and colleagues were quick show Ottmann support.

"Yesterday, January 27, was Holocaust Remembrance Day - the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz extermination camp. I spent the day seeing articles, comedy skits, and debates over whether it was a heil or just a 'joke.' There is no joke to be had here. I too am anxious and concerned, and see the fear and silence. I am glad you are also speaking up," Diana Rosenberg, a technical lead at Tesla commented.

"I'm happy to see you both speaking up. It takes courage, especially in a retaliatory environment," another LinkedIn user responded to Ottmann and Rosenberg.

Within days of his post, Ottmann was canned. He later confirmed his firing to The New York Times but declined to share further details.

Musk's influence in the White House and his pattern of retaliatory firings raise questions about free speech and retribution—not just within his companies, but the country.

In 2022, eight SpaceX employees who circulated an internal letter criticizing Musk's behavior were dismissed. They later sued for wrongful termination.

"Anybody unhappy with Elon? If you are, we'll throw them out of here," President Trump said during a cabinet meeting Wednesday.