While Tesla seems to be going through a very bad time, employees have spoken out. According to them, working for the electric car manufacturer would be far from rosy, if not downright chaotic.
Just a few years ago, Tesla was on the verge of bankruptcy, but the American company was ultimately saved by the success of the Model 3 as well as the Model Y. But all is not yet won.
A bad patch for Tesla?
Indeed, specialists predict that the firm could experience one of its worst years in 2023, due to competition from Chinese manufacturers, including BYD.
Moreover, the latter managed to become the world number 1 in electric at the start of the year, dethroning Elon Musk’s firm, which was finally able to return to the top of the ranking.
Everything is not yet decided for Tesla, which decided to make numerous layoffs a few weeks earlier following the first quarter results.
Among the layoffs, which would exceed 10% of Tesla’s overall workforce, the team in charge of developing the Supercharger network was targeted, since 500 people in this branch will have to leave the company. A decision which seems to confirm the bad situation Tesla finds itself in.
In addition, the firm has decided to cancel its car project for less than 25,000 euros, which would have allowed it to compete with the Renault 5 E-Tech in France. Tesla has also reversed course on Gigacasting, a production method which could have been very economical.
Nothing is going well for the manufacturer, and this is confirmed by several former employees, who decided to jump ship before the current wave of layoffs. Some of them testified to the Chinese site ItHome on this subject.
Among them, a certain Johnwho chose to take a pseudonym in order to remain anonymous and avoid any problems with his former employer.
A chaotic work environment
The latter occupied a position of technician in charge of the Supercharger network, whose development was slowed down by management decision. The latter indicates that he welcomed the opening of these terminals to other electric cars, thinking that his job was secure. For him, more users logically meant even more maintenance.
Except that in reality, it was actually very different, since Tesla decided to limit costs and carry out a large wave of layoffs.
For his part, John had made the decision to resign of the company before this happens. However, everything suggests that the management of the firm has nothing to do with it, as indicated by several employees interviewed. Several have spoken out on this subject, saying that working for Tesla is far from all rosy.
These employees indicate that their job is often “ chaotic and hectic », without giving more details on the why and how.
Statements which seem to confirm what we have already known for some time, since at the beginning of last year, employees had already decided to rebel against the management of the company. The latter claimed to be treated like robots, and decided to unite in order to create a union with the aim of denouncing working conditions within the Buffalo factory.
An initiative which resulted in several layoffs, even if Elon Musk had affirmed that these had nothing to do with the rebellion of the employees concerned.
A few weeks earlier, two important figures in the company also made the decision to leave, namely Rohan Patel, former director of business development for the brand and Drew Baglino, one of the main engineers in charge of the development of batteries. A hard blow for the manufacturer.