Elon Musk is vowing to make things right with a San Jose bakery after a pie order placed by Tesla reportedly cost the owner thousands of dollars.
Voahangy Rasetarinera, the owner of “The Giving Pies” in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, told NBC Bay Area that last week, they got an order from Tesla of 4,000 mini-pies for $16,000.
Rasetarinera said she had asked staff to work extra hours, bought ingredients and supplies, and even declined at least three other catering jobs for Tesla's large order.
But Tesla unexpectedly canceled the order via a text.
Musk posted on his social media platform "X" Friday morning that he "will make things good with the bakery." What exactly that means is not yet clear.
Rasetarinera said that she hasn’t heard from Musk since the social media post.
The incident also has a lot of people in the community talking. On Friday, there was a long line to get the last of the mini-pies for the day.
Some customers who spoke to NBC Bay Area on Friday said they wanted to show their support after hearing about what happened to Rasetarinera last week.
“I thought it was terrible. Here, they do a nice business with a great product, and they give some of it away to help people. And then, Tesla comes and orders 4,000 pies and squashes the order. I think that's disgusting,” said San Jose resident David.
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David went to “The Giving Pies” twice Friday to support the business. There were also first-time customers coming in.
“It’s hard for these non-chain type places to survive. So I thought, I would come over and support. The pies look great,” said San Jose resident Eric.
Rasetarinera told NBC Bay Area Friday that her business has tripled since the incident. She is also receiving messages and orders from all over the world.
“I feel super grateful and super supported,” she said. “People placing orders like 'I live in Canada, I just want to support you.' They place an order and say 'just give it to anybody.'”
Before Musk’s post, Rasetarinera said she heard from someone with Tesla, explaining that it was all a misunderstanding. They also asked if she could cater two events in March.
Rasetarinera said she hasn’t received a follow-up email for that yet, but if she does, she said that she will consider it if she has the time and resources.
