Buzz
Tesla holds the title of the most valuable automaker globally. This achievement is particularly remarkable, considering the company was founded in 2003 and only launched its first car in 2008. Established competitors like General Motors, Daimler AG, and Toyota have been around for decades, yet Tesla has emerged as a leader in the industry.
Tesla isn't your typical car manufacturer. It has carved out its own space, blending the roles of a carmaker and a tech company. This unique position has made it especially appealing to job seekers eager to join an innovative and distinct company. However, as many have discovered, there's more beneath the surface than it initially seems.
10. Steer clear of Elon Musk’s desk
Although not an official policy, many Tesla employees make it a point to avoid walking too close to Elon Musk’s desk. His reputation for firing staff on a whim has led one manager to instruct their team to steer clear of his workspace whenever he’s nearby.
Surprisingly, you don't need to make a huge mistake to become Elon’s next casualty. Simply giving an incorrect answer to an unexpected or vague question might be enough to land you back on the job market.
One Tesla employee recalled the story of an unfortunate engineer who lost his job after a heated encounter with Musk in October 2017. The engineer was going about his tasks at Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada when a colleague informed him that Elon wanted to see him.
The engineer approached Elon, only to be met with a barrage of anger regarding something that wasn’t functioning. The engineer couldn't tell if Elon was referring to a tool or a robot. Despite his attempts to clarify, Elon continued shouting and peppered his speech with expletives, demanding to know if the engineer had 'done it'.
When the engineer asked for more details, Elon called him an idiot and bluntly told him to 'f—k off and don’t come back.' The entire ordeal lasted less than a minute, and the engineer never understood the reason for his firing.
9. You only attend key meetings
Let's be honest—most employees dread meetings, especially when they drag on, are boring, or seem pointless. If you work at Tesla, however, you're in luck because Elon Musk enforces strict guidelines on who should attend meetings and how they should be organized.
Elon Musk believes that meetings at Tesla should be small, short, and rare. In his ideal world, a meeting would have no more than four to six participants, and while larger meetings are allowed, they should be brief and straight to the point.
Tesla employees are free to leave meetings the moment they realize their presence is no longer necessary. While this might seem impolite to some employers, Elon Musk believes it’s actually more disrespectful to force someone to sit through a meeting they don’t need to attend.
Why does Elon Musk have such strict rules about unproductive meetings? It's not about the employees; it's about the business. Musk wants his team working continuously, so if you're not in a meeting, you'd better be at your workstation.
8. You have the option to bypass your manager
In most organizations, information follows a chain of command: a worker shares it with their manager, who then passes it along to a manager from another department, who finally communicates it to a worker in that department. Feedback typically follows the same pattern.
At Tesla, however, things work a bit differently. A worker in one department can skip their manager and the manager of the other department to speak directly with a worker in that department. This rule even extends to higher-ups, including vice presidents and Elon Musk himself.
This unconventional communication style was outlined in a memo Elon Musk sent to all Tesla employees. In the memo, Musk criticized the traditional chain of command, calling it slow, inefficient, and foolish. He emphasized that for Tesla to succeed, information must flow quickly and easily.
Musk also pointed out that chain-of-command structures only serve to inflate managers' egos and promote unhealthy interdepartmental competition, which ultimately harms the company's success. He warned that managers who try to control the flow of information would be fired.
7. Leaking information could lead to a lawsuit
Like many other large tech companies, Tesla employees have a habit of leaking confidential company details to the media. In response, Tesla has taken a hard stance, threatening leakers with termination and legal action.
In May 2019, Tesla's security team sent an email to employees informing them that several individuals had been fired and sued for various offenses, including sharing production data with reporters and posting confidential company details and phone numbers on social media.
The email also reminded employees that they must safeguard company information from unknown individuals who wish to see Tesla fail. However, it seems Tesla employees didn’t take the warning seriously, as the email itself was leaked. That’s why you're reading about it now.
6. Expect to earn modest salaries
Is Tesla a car company or a tech company? This question is significant, especially when comparing its salaries to those offered by similar businesses.
If we classify Tesla as a tech company, its median salary falls short of expectations. However, if we view it as a car manufacturer, its median salary is about average for the automotive industry. It's neither high nor low, though it’s worth noting that even garbage collectors earn a bit more.
In 2020, Tesla claimed it pays its mid-level workers $15 per hour, which totals $47,147 annually. However, this estimate is inflated, as $15 an hour actually equates to $31,200 per year, assuming a 40-hour workweek and 52 weeks in a year. This figure is less than what a refuse collector earns, who makes $19.90 an hour or $41,400 annually.
Tesla has faced consistent criticism for low wages. In 2018, the average salary for a Tesla employee was $56,163 per year, including base salary, bonuses, and stock. In comparison, Ford employees earned an average of $64,316, while General Motors workers made $77,849.
5. Expect to put in long hours
On November 26, 2018, Elon Musk tweeted, 'There are way easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week.' He later followed up with another tweet, saying, 'But if you love what you do, it (mostly) doesn’t feel like work.'
This statement carries profound implications, ones that only Tesla workers truly grasp. In essence, it means Elon Musk expects Tesla employees to work overtime whenever needed. This could be the reason behind the inflated salary figure discussed earlier.
Every Tesla employee can attest to the fact that long hours are the norm. Even Elon Musk is known to sleep under desks at the factory. For some employees, these extended hours are motivating, pushing them to their limits, while others view it as a sign of poor management.
4. Enjoy free Red Bull energy drinks
Tesla sets a high bar for employee overwork. A typical shift at the company lasts between 12 and 16 hours, often extending through the entire week and sometimes including weekends, particularly during demanding production deadlines. Many Tesla workers end their shifts so exhausted that they stare blankly, like zombies. This is what employees refer to as the 'Tesla stare.'
So, how does Tesla keep its employees awake and functioning through grueling work hours and mandatory weekend shifts? By supplying free cans of Red Bull energy drinks, of course. Employees gulp them down to stay alert. However, not all workers get a free can, and some even resort to buying their own.
3. You could be fired without any notice
Tesla has gained a reputation for letting employees go without warning. One moment, you might be working hard, and the next, you’re told your services are no longer needed. There's often no indication that a layoff is coming, nor any sign that a colleague has been let go.
For example, one engineer discovered his manager had been fired when the manager failed to show up for a scheduled meeting.
Many layoffs at Tesla reportedly begin with a meeting or conference. A former employee from Tesla’s energy division recalled receiving an email at 1 a.m., instructing her and her team to join a video conference later in the day. During the meeting, she was one of 250 employees let go, and the layoff was indiscriminate, affecting even those who had met their sales quotas.
Another employee from the vehicle delivery team was dismissed an hour after arriving at work on a Monday morning. He sensed something was wrong when three managers entered the office and called a colleague into a conference room. The sight of all three managers together was unusual.
He only realized something was wrong when he saw his colleague packing up her belongings and leaving the room. Initially, he thought she had been laid off due to poor performance. However, when he was called into the room, he was told his position was eliminated. No one had informed him of this earlier.
2. You are prohibited from forming or joining a union
Tesla employees are not allowed to form or join a union. While this is not officially stated as Tesla’s policy, the company's actions strongly suggest that it does not want workers to unionize.
For example, on May 21, 2018, Elon Musk tweeted that employees who unionize would forfeit their stock options: 'Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?'
This tweet was just one of many anti-union actions by Tesla. The company has threatened pro-union employees, dismissed workers for union-related activities, prevented workers from handing out union flyers, and imposed a dress code to stop employees from wearing pro-union apparel.
1. Stress may cause you to pass out
Tesla’s demanding work environment, with its extended hours, weekend shifts, mandatory overtime, and relentless deadlines, creates a high-stress atmosphere for employees. Many have suffered from seizures, chest pains, and shortness of breath on the job. Some even fainted, collapsing with such force that they injured themselves by hitting their heads on the floor.
Since 2017, ambulances have been seen entering Tesla factories to take injured workers to the hospital. However, managers, who are also under intense pressure, have never halted the assembly lines to assist the injured. Instead, they simply instructed other workers to continue while the injured employee remained on the floor.
