Ask HN: Those who still work for Tesla, why are you still with that company?

27 points by franze ↗ HN

25 comments

[ 4.0 ms ] story [ 56.4 ms ] thread
I bet it's the same reason people still work for any controversial companies like cigarettes, oil, etc.

Money, relationships inside the company, career path, doesn't feel like working in the company means they share the same views as Elon, agrees with Elon, us vs the world mentality, hard to find equivalent job, etc.

Are we also going to try to find saints in the companies that make up the S&P 500 which a lot of pension funds have invested your retirement fund in them?

So that is large big tech companies, big pharmaceuticals, oil, defense, investment banks and asset management companies and then ask why folks here work for them?

I am always amazed how people will look the other way when there is a paycheck involved. In many cases, they have constraints (families, mortgages, etc), and sometimes it is just greed. I'd want to think it's the former with most Tesla employees.

But I am sure many people on the margins will move along when the opportunity comes along.

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> Pull your head out and be useful instead of complaining against the people actually building the world.

franze didn't complain about anything. He simply asked why people work at Tesla. You're defensiveness is hilarious.

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Are you suggesting that the well publicised images and video of the Tesla CEO doing a "Nazi Salute" are fake?

Are you suggesting that the reporting saying he appeared virtually at a campaign event for a German political party made up of holocaust deniers and antisemites is fake?

But enough politics. Let's talk about your first claim.

> Tesla is one of the best executing companies in history

Really? I've been hearing about how "you can buy a Tesla and it will be a robo taxi while you're not using it" since before I had a child.

At the rate it's going he'll be able to drive himself before Tesla delivers on their oft-repeated lie about this feature - and they still won't be able to support it on all the vehicles they sold with the claim it would be supported when it's ready.

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Was it really intended as a Nahtzee salute?
If you respond like that to a basic question you don't work at Tesla, and you are acting out for no reason.
Because they don't share _your_ values.
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> Most people support Tesla, Elon and Trump.

A sweeping generalisation, perhaps? Maybe it's something you _want_ to see rather than what's _actually_ there to see.

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This is not Facebook, people try to actually contribute to the discussions. No one cares what your beliefs are, it is completely irrelevant to the topic.
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I’m saying how is any of that relevant to the topic of ”why are you, as an individual, working at Tesla”? There’s no one talking about the success of Tesla or the Trump election results except you?
Why are you getting so riled up? It’s an interesting question to get multiple perspectives. You are rambling about all kinds of unrelated things.
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While it's an encouraging developement that many consumers seem to be holding Tesla responsible for its CEO's overt political actions, which seems like a fair tit for tat, Tesla is more than just that one guy.

People working for them -- for the engineering challenges, for the ecological vision, for the opportuinty to secure a living for their family, for whatver reason -- deserve the opportunity to weather the storm for a while.

It may soon be in the company's interest to boot Musk, but that doesn't mean that all the people invested in their vision should be abanonding ship just yet. Thousands of people have done good, earnest work there and needn't be held to immediate account for one person's controversial behavior.

Choosing to buy a different brand of car is a whole different thing than choosing to quit a job and uproot one's life. Give it a minute, maybe.

The psychology is getting weird in a giradian way. The perception of Elon’s power is reaching super natural levels. He controls the government and the stock market, the future of technology, etc.

So Tesla is becoming a voodoo doll for accessing Elon.

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