Elon Musk's Tesla pays back small business after $2,000 pie fiasco

Elon Musk has hit the headlines once again - but it's not anything to do with his cars or space rockets.

Instead, it's all to do with pies - after a bakery in California's San Jose called Tesla out.

Giving Pies said that Tesla placed a large order for a few thousand mini pies for an event at the last minute, but then backed out after the bakery had already committed to the process.

This allegedly left the bakery $2,000 out of pocket, with no sense that there was going to be a way to make it right. They posted on Facebook about the episode, and were then approached by local media to talk about the whole debacle. Pretty soon, one of these stories made its way to Musk.

In typically no-nonsense fashion, he replied to a news channel on the social media platform he owns, X, and said: "Just hearing about this. Will make things good with the bakery. People should always be able to count on Tesla trying its best."

Musk didn't say any more, but it looks like he set a chain of actions going internally - and it's resulted in some really welcome news.

Now, true to Musk's promise, Tesla has indeed reimbursed the bakery, the owner has said.

In fact, Tesla reportedly also put in a new order for another 3,600 pies to cater an event, as a further apology for the first blunder, but owner Voahangy Rasetarinera had to turn them down as her kitchen is now so busy.

Apparently the bakery now has a waiting list and lines around the block, so it looks like this has all turned into a major boost to its business profile.

That's a far cry from the original situation, and Rasetarinena told NBC: "It's incredible. I am blown away. I'm like, 'I didn’t do it for that.' I'm so grateful. It's amazing. People are amazing."

So, it looks like some decisive action by Musk has turned things around, continuing what has been a hugely busy year so far for him in media terms, one that has been dominated by the continuing launch of Tesla's Cybertruck.

This new off-road-ready electric vehicle (EV) has been ridiculed or lauded - depending on who you're listening to - but there's no doubt that it's already one of the most recognizable cars on the road, even just a few months into being delivered to customers.