**Tesla Factory in Austin Pauses Production for Training Focused on Culture Improvement**

During a weeklong shutdown at Tesla's Austin factory, the company concentrated on various training events aimed at enhancing personnel skills and company culture. Business Insider obtained a recording from one of these sessions where an internal instructor prompted employees to reflect on their working conditions and company culture.

The instructor openly queried staff about whether they felt their team's culture needed improvement. They acknowledged that many employees leave Tesla with negative impressions, feeling burned out and unheard. “A lot of people leave this company, and they have kind of a negative taste in their mouth,” the instructor said, mentioning that employees often feel they weren’t listened to and couldn’t get anything done.

Despite a non-responsive Tesla spokesperson, insiders clarified that production was halted the week of Memorial Day. During this period, employees could choose between taking paid time off or participating in particular cleaning and training activities.

Hundreds of Tesla staff joined in these sessions, including a notable one focused on cultural improvement. The instructor emphasized the importance of employee responsibility in shaping the company’s culture. They also advised that although leadership has a role in guiding this, ultimately, it is the ground-level employees who reflect the company’s culture.

The recording reveals Tesla's efforts to bolster employee morale amidst facing lackluster sales and increased scrutiny. It also uncovered that this culture training, typically reserved for leadership, was shared more broadly with the intention of instilling a sense of purpose among all employees.

Other training sessions included improving production line efficiency and addressing environmental health and safety concerns. Employees described this shutdown and training regimen as unusual for Tesla, especially in the wake of a 13% drop in deliveries reported in April.

The recent initiatives come at a time when CEO Elon Musk has scaled back his governmental advisory role to focus more on Tesla, amid backlash over his associations with President Donald Trump.