What Elon Musk’s tweets really mean for Tesla

It’s not as simple as it seems.

His tweets portray him as genuine, curious, and transparent. This is a double edged sword. How does Elon Musk’s tweeting translate for Tesla’s employees, and what does it suggest about his leadership?

The Tesla CEO and chairman regularly takes seemingly impossible projects and brings them to life. In 2018 he shared his latest ambition: he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share, and that he had secured funding. After a swift investigation, the SEC filed a suit against Musk and Tesla. While the suit was being settled, Musk teased the SEC as being the Short Seller Enrichment Commission.

Should everyone at Tesla behave the way Musk is behaving?

Musk is extremely visible. As the company’s leader, his team members are looking to him to set the standard for behavior and values at Tesla. Thereby his behavior trickles down through the organization. Through his actions, Musk creates a company culture that mirrors him. For example, his transparent communication creates a transparent culture.

Transparency has many benefits within companies: team members share knowledge, collaborate, discuss, and encourage ideas to flow freely. In this sense, Musk sharing his ideas on Twitter is a great thing. However, there can be negative consequences too.

When the company’s leader draws attention to every big idea that comes to him, it can send team members in too many different directions.

Tesla needs to focus on the most important thing. Even the company’s board has been very clear about that. The company needs to focus on creating exceptional cars and delivering as many of them as possible. Deliveries are the company’s main performance metric, and it is paramount for the company’s survival. This is also key to how stock analysts evaluate the company. Encouraging such clarity is excellent as it keeps everyone moving in the same direction.

However, the focus is muddied when the CEO lobs significant strategic changes into the world. While a tweet may seem like a small action, it can cause a tremendous distraction. For example, the famous “taking Tesla private” tweets diverted notable energy inside and outside of the company. Team members that were previously focused on delivery metrics, are now directed towards other numbers. How much are their stock options worth now? Did the CEO really make a public 4/20 weed reference? What’s worse, this kind of confusion provides fuel for Musk’s mortal enemy: the short seller.

External transparency needs to be carefully crafted. Tesla is a very visible company, and Musk has great influence on the public narrative. His tweets moved the focus away from the company’s mission and innovations, and onto Musk and his governance. The exact opposite of what he wants to inspire in his company.

Musk also uses Twitter to get fast feedback. It signals that he’s interested in learning from others and getting input on his ideas. That’s fantastic. Listening is a great quality for a leader to demonstrate in his organization. A leader that polls his customers, collects opinions, and engages in open dialogue sets a powerful example. It shows team members that inquiry and curiosity are valued in the company. However, before heading to Twitter, Musk may be well advised to air disruptive ideas in a safer setting first.

Nonetheless, Musk’s tweets display a significant level of comfort. He’s clearly comfortable in his position at Tesla — regardless of what formal titles he holds. Teasing regulatory agencies and sharing whatever comes to mind in a completely public forum is bold. This boldness typically stems from a feeling of safety about one’s position in an organization. Since he is leading the company, this likely means things are going well for Tesla internally. Goals are being met, and the company is in a strong spot. This gives Musk confidence in his abilities and his position at the company’s helm.

So what does it all mean?

Elon Musk’s personal brand is meshed with his company’s brand in a way that hasn’t been seen since Steve Jobs. In many ways Musk is synonymous with Tesla. He is credited as being the driving force behind the company. He knows how to inspire people and get things done.

His tweets demonstrate his famous unbridled ambition. They demonstrate transparency, curiosity, and a desire for feedback. All of which are great attributes to model for Tesla’s employees. Team members are more productive when they feel safe to share bold ideas freely and collect feedback.

Because norms and behaviors trickle down through an organization, leaders need to be very considerate in their actions. Fortunately Musk is modeling many great attributes.

However, too much transparency can become troublesome when applied to external communication. Thousands of employees and investors look to Musk to direct the vision and focus of the company. Sharing unrefined ideas that impact the company can be counterproductive. This can cause a big distraction in the public spotlight, even if it’s just a little tweet.

This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +427,678 people.

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