In many previous cases reinstalling vmware tools or run vmware-config-tools.pl will fix it. Tried these already, and not successful this time.
This VM is newly setup, Live CD from ISO. No persistence image. I verified it has VMware Tools version 10.1.5.59732 inside the live ISO itself, I merely boot it up. But did not run.
/usr/biin/vmware-toolbox-cmd -v
showed the above version.
ps ax |grep vm
proved vmware tools not running.
strange enough seems that virtualbox-guest-utils seems to be running:
service --status-all
/usr/bin/vnware-config-tools.pl is not there at all, there are the other vmware stuffs however.
Trying to reinstall vmware tools by the usual ways, hit snag that 'ifconfig' does not exist, and apt-get install -y nets-tools says package is missing / obsolute
Searched around the /var/log and seems this tails made syslog vanished for security reason or something. However there is a file /var/logvmware-vmsvc.log which does not contain a single error, it seemed happy and showed some plugins initialized.
I am rather baffled why vmware tools don't run in this, and rather virtualbox guest utility seems to be running.
I am suspecting the Tails 3.5 had vmware tools install unsuccessfully, due to this
service vmware-tools restart
Unit vmware-tools.service not found
Can anyone pse suggest some ideas? 
Thanks
tsxi
A follow up here, I just discovered that it was not the regular vmware tools inside this ISO live CD, it was Open VM Tools, which is new to me.
service --status-all
it does have a listing of open-vm-tools running, which was not what I was look for - my familiar vmware-tools
ps -ax |grep vm
Does not have vmtoolsd but I did not know that there is actually a /user/bin/vmtoolsd
So my Open vm tools is actually RUNNING but NOT WORKING!
I am not getting shared folder the /mnt is empty, I am not getting clip board at all, I am also not getting the screen guest resizing while I resize vmware workstaion application's window etc. etc.
No effects / no benefits of vmware tools exist so far, this is my 1st time coming across open vm tools, I assume these are supposed to work.
Now I managed to get it partially working after additional installation of package open-vm-tools-desktop
sudo apt-get update -y && sudo apt-get --noinstall-remommends install -y open-vm-tools-desktop
Seems that reason being open vm tools separated their vmware tools into 2 packages and only the basic one is by default installed in tails 3.5 ISO,
Only having the basic the basic package covers only sync of system time, and passing system status info and power state commands (on/off/reset/suspend) and auto grab / release of mouse cursor only. So now shared folded (hgfs) partially works (showing /mnt/hgfs/ but can not access with error msg "Transport endpoint is not connected"). But my auto fit guest (screen size) cut & paste drag/drop etc still DON'T WORK.
This is just after installation of this open-vm-tools-desktop, so I suspect it is not taking full effect until a usual reboot but NO WAY! since this is a live CD, reboot means only my installed open-vm-tools-desktop will vanish! Annoying in Tails is that I cannot even do live session logout and login - it is not provided.
I tried :
init 3 and then init 5 again,
Not possible either, tails will hang at init 5 with a X environment and mouse cursor forever spinning (not ready) - to me this seems like some desktop init gone problematic.
I still have NO IDEA how to get cut & past drag/drop and auto fit guest to work.