Tesla Job Openings

DJ Frustration said:

Staffing for Model X design/engineering and Model S sales/service?

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Makes sense. On the design/engineering front, they have to ramp up rapidly on the X to make the late 2013 target while still having some bit of engineering in maintenance mode for the S.

Personally, I considered Tesla sometime ago on the software front. Pulled back as it seemed like all eggs in one basket for me. The commute would be hell too (even after I drop my kid off at school in Palo Alto) having to wade through the hordes headed for HP, SAP and VMWare on Page Mill!

Nice location and campus though - it was my first time at Deer Creek at the test drive event yesterday.

gg_wants_a_tesla said:

Makes sense. On the design/engineering front, they have to ramp up rapidly on the X to make the late 2013 target while still having some bit of engineering in maintenance mode for the S.

Personally, I considered Tesla sometime ago on the software front. Pulled back as it seemed like all eggs in one basket for me. The commute would be hell too (even after I drop my kid off at school in Palo Alto) having to wade through the hordes headed for HP, SAP and VMWare on Page Mill!

Nice location and campus though - it was my first time at Deer Creek at the test drive event yesterday.

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I considered them for software development as well, but would be quite a commute from Raleigh. =P

The Job Openings page is a great way to keep a pulse on Tesla Motors. For example, Tesla has only announced a mall store in Massachusetts (at the fancy mall in Natick), but they have two job postings in the "Boston Store" for a Service Manager and a Vehicle Technician. So (unsurprisingly) they're opening a service center, too. Now if they'd only tell us where....

Robert.Boston said:

The Job Openings page is a great way to keep a pulse on Tesla Motors. For example, Tesla has only announced a mall store in Massachusetts (at the fancy mall in Natick), but they have two job postings in the "Boston Store" for a Service Manager and a Vehicle Technician. So (unsurprisingly) they're opening a service center, too. Now if they'd only tell us where....

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That's so true.

Citizen-T said:

I considered them for software development as well, but would be quite a commute from Raleigh. =P

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Not even superchargers could help that one.

Robert.Boston said:

The Job Openings page is a great way to keep a pulse on Tesla Motors. For example, Tesla has only announced a mall store in Massachusetts (at the fancy mall in Natick), but they have two job postings in the "Boston Store" for a Service Manager and a Vehicle Technician. So (unsurprisingly) they're opening a service center, too. Now if they'd only tell us where....

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+1 The job site listed a "Fashion Valley" San Diego location 5 months ago even though no announcement has been made as of 7/17/12.

Has Tesla lowered the bar for their hiring of late? Particularly on the 'product specialist' front?

I say this because I haven't particularly been impressed by my interactions with said specialists at recent Tesla events and in Tesla stores. It appeared as if I knew more about the car than some of them; also, there's very little current status (of mods to the car, production status etc.) getting through to them.

The real disappointment was last night at the Santana Row store where my friends, who were checking out the store and the S beta there, were a little annoyed by a Tesla rep who repeatedly mentioned that they should put down "only $5k" to get an S in 11 months. Sounded like a typical car dealership sales pitch than the previously hands-off "Can I help you understand the car and EV ownership a bit more?" approach...

gg_wants_a_tesla said:

Has Tesla lowered the bar for their hiring of late? Particularly on the 'product specialist' front?

I say this because I haven't particularly been impressed by my interactions with said specialists at recent Tesla events and in Tesla stores. It appeared as if I knew more about the car than some of them; also, there's very little current status (of mods to the car, production status etc.) getting through to them.

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Perhaps the first job requirement should be that they obsessively read this forum.

To be fair, I highly doubt that the reps are avid forum goers like us and don't spend their off time looking for EVERY single update. I too knew more then the reps, but you have to consider how quickly they are hiring people in relation to how quickly they can train them. They can only really train them so much before the information is lost. So high points like 5k reservation and such will be remembered, but finer details like you and I would know would be lost to them.

I would love to work for Tesla. If they ever had any job openings in Texas that matched my measly salary as an I.S. administrator, I'd jump on it.

IT as well, eh? My wife is thinking of going to PA school. I am hoping that it happens to be were Tesla HQ is. I will apply there first.

gg_wants_a_tesla said:

The real disappointment was last night at the Santana Row store where my friends, who were checking out the store and the S beta there, were a little annoyed by a Tesla rep who repeatedly mentioned that they should put down "only $5k" to get an S in 11 months. Sounded like a typical car dealership sales pitch than the previously hands-off "Can I help you understand the car and EV ownership a bit more?" approach...

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This was bound to happen with all the hiring they've been doing. I remember back in 2010 our local store employed a guy who used to work at another dealership. He told me that if I wanted to upgrade to a Sig I'd "better act fast because they were almost out". I called Tesla extremely concerned because I wanted to wait to see what options would be available, and they told that that was ridiculous, that of course the Sigs weren't close to fully reserved. I haven't seen that guy at the store since. I'm sure it wasn't only me who had experiences like that. We then got Will, who is a tech guy instead of a car guy, and he couldn't have been any different from the former car salesman, and acted accordingly (and eventually got promoted to regional manager in the NE).

I think one of the challenges Tesla has in hiring is that car people who really understand car things and can talk the talk about the car have often worked for other dealerships and grew up in that world of ABC (always be closing). OTOH, for Tesla to hire people who don't know much about cars but who get their culture, you're going to end up with customers knowing more than the people in the stores.

Bottom line is, Tesla will find these people who don't fit their culture and either get them to convert or get rid of them. Goodness knows Elon is not afraid to fire people who don't meet his standards! A company like Tesla hiring hundreds of people a month all over the country are going to let at least a few duds through the system. The key is getti g rid of them when they're found out.

I am pretty sure the Tesla folks are glad to have us informed as much or more than the employees. My copilot Ariana as much as said so.
The more people out there that are "unbiased" - not paid - to tell a handful of their friends is worth more to them. I was asked for a lot of opinions, too. I felt welcomed and respected by the reps in the store for the knowledge I've gathered from here and other places.
I would definitely like to work part time at the now-open local store. Now that there are some fresh folks there, I think we TMC folks could teach them a few things.

gg_wants_a_tesla said:

It appeared as if I knew more about the car than some of them

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This isn't troubling. You keeping up with the forums definitely makes it an unfair test.

gg_wants_a_tesla said:

were a little annoyed by a Tesla rep who repeatedly mentioned that they should put down "only $5k" to get an S in 11 months. Sounded like a typical car dealership sales pitch than the previously hands-off "Can I help you understand the car and EV ownership a bit more?" approach...

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This is troubling, but hopefully they'll fix it.

gg_wants_a_tesla said:

Has Tesla lowered the bar for their hiring of late? Particularly on the 'product specialist' front?

I say this because I haven't particularly been impressed by my interactions with said specialists at recent Tesla events and in Tesla stores. It appeared as if I knew more about the car than some of them; also, there's very little current status (of mods to the car, production status etc.) getting through to them.

The real disappointment was last night at the Santana Row store where my friends, who were checking out the store and the S beta there, were a little annoyed by a Tesla rep who repeatedly mentioned that they should put down "only $5k" to get an S in 11 months. Sounded like a typical car dealership sales pitch than the previously hands-off "Can I help you understand the car and EV ownership a bit more?" approach...

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I have gotten so many different answers from Tesla store employees, two Tesla store employees were actually arguing in front of me after I asked the question if the interior color was tan or white. Always ask the question to at last three Tesla "genius" store employees before taking it as fact!

smoothoperator said:

I have gotten so many different answers from Tesla store employees, two Tesla store employees were actually arguing in front of me after I asked the question if the interior color was tan or white. Always ask the question to at last three Tesla "genius" store employees before taking it as fact!

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While I don't have a lot of experience with Tesla employees--I've only ever talked to one--I can assure you that Toyota dealer employees know very little about the Prius after twelve years. To put a number on it, I'd say they know about 10% more than they did in 2001 but I still hear all kinds of odd statements from the service department.

It's simple. If the employee isn't doing a satisfactory job and making your customer experience unpleasant in any way, lodge a complaint to a higher source. Chances are it will be rectified quickly, as has been evidenced in so many other situations.

Some people interview really good. They know what to say and how to say it. It's only a matter of time, though, before they fall into old habits in their new position and get caught out. Employers want to know, particularly when such a position is front and center like a store rep.

On the other hand, and not saying it of anyone here, you just can't please some people and they'll find something to complain about at every turn. So an employer needs to hear a few repeat offenses of an employee before it's prudent to take action.

Hmm.... vehicle test operator. Seems like that would be a fun job!

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