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Tesla Employees Fired by Musk Were Scooped Up by Rival Companies Rivian, Amazon, and Apple

If you've read the news lately, you probably think this it's not a good time for employees working in automated driving, especially at Tesla. Nevertheless, Tesla laying off talent might prove a wrong decision in the long term, especially as competing companies are more than happy to hire them.
Tesla employees fired by Musk were scooped up by rival companies 6 photos
Photo: Tesla
Tesla employees fired by Musk were scooped up by rival companiesTesla FremontTesla factoryTesla factoryTesla factory
Elon Musk became concerned with the state of the economy and announced he would trim the Tesla workforce to face expected headwinds. He soon followed his tweets with a decision to lay off 200 Autopilot workers at Tesla’s San Antonio facility. Reports emerged of more Tesla employees fired at various company locations. You’d think Elon Musk knows better, but his actions are becoming more controversial as he approaches a middle-life crisis. His last decision might cost Tesla in the long run.

Tesla acquired some of the most talented engineers, excited to work for an innovative company that changes people’s lives. With a flick of the hand, Musk threw this away, granting its rivals what they wanted so badly: Tesla talents. According to a study by Punks & Pinstripes, an organization that tracked Tesla employees’ movement, all departed staff work now for rival companies. Punks & Pinstripes analyzed 457 Tesla talent departures over the past 90 days using data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

According to their study, electric vehicle rivals Rivian and Lucid welcomed 90 ex-Tesla employees over the past 90 days. Even more (102) were scooped up by Amazon and Apple, companies with a history of head-hunting in Tesla’s yard. A total of 77 Tesla talents were hired by software companies Google, Meta, and Microsoft. Not surprisingly, not many ex-Tesla employees want to work for traditional car companies: only eight people went to Ford or GM.

The relocation of the highly skilled staff from Tesla to rival companies means the EV market and the automated driving sector will change dramatically. Musk’s increasingly irrational behavior in the last months has prompted an exodus of Tesla talents, even without him announcing cutting 3.5% of Tesla’s total workforce. The “return to office” notice that Musk issued recently was probably the last straw. The problem for Tesla is that other companies are eagerly looking to hire Tesla talents.

“If the Emperor of Mars doesn’t want you, I’ll be happy to bring you over to #AWS,” Zafar Choudhury, a recruiting leader at Amazon Web Services, wrote on LinkedIn. His message contained a tongue-in-cheek reference to Musk’s fixation on colonizing Mars.

Recruiters at Microsoft issued a similar call to disgruntled Tesla employees. Elon Musk was probably right to say that Tesla is on the ropes, expressing concerns over the company’s future. What he failed to comprehend is that he is the one pushing Tesla into a tight corner.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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