July 17, 2024 – Tesla is in the process of hiring nearly 800 new employees, just three months after CEO Elon Musk issued the largest layoff order in the company’s history.
According to Bloomberg’s analysis, new job postings have appeared on Tesla’s career page in recent weeks, ranging from artificial intelligence experts to service positions.
The increase in job postings coincides with a surge in Tesla’s stock price. In just the past 14 trading days, Tesla’s market value has increased by more than $223 billion. Tesla’s stock price has been rising almost daily, except for a brief dip when it was reported that Tesla had decided to postpone the release of its self-driving taxi prototype. Musk confirmed on Monday that he requested design changes for the autonomous taxi and provided additional time for the team developing it.
Although these 800 positions are relatively small compared to the thousands of jobs Tesla cut this year, and publicly posted jobs may not fully reflect the company’s hiring situation, these new positions still provide a glimpse into some of Tesla’s priorities.
In May of this year, Tesla failed to meet vehicle sales expectations, resulting in a historic drop in its stock price. At that time, there were only three job postings on its website. According to Bloomberg, a 20% decline in quarterly deliveries prompted Musk to push for a corresponding reduction in staff, which would mean laying off about 28,000 of the company’s more than 140,000 employees at the beginning of the year.
Many of the positions the company is now hiring for are focused on artificial intelligence and robotics, including Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus. There are at least 25 positions related to autonomous driving development or Autopilot, and at least 30 positions focused on the Optimus robot. As Tesla prepares to release a prototype of its self-driving taxi in October, the company is reinforcing its commitment to pursuing autonomous driving technology, which it has been developing for many years.
This hiring boom seems to be aimed at replenishing areas where Tesla has over-reduced its staff, and it also reflects Musk’s vision for the company. He has previously stated that he now sees Tesla more as an artificial intelligence, robotics, and sustainable energy company rather than just an electric vehicle company.
In mid-May, Tesla quietly posted 17 artificial intelligence and robotics-related jobs at its Palo Alto, California office. As of July 10, that number had steadily climbed to about 130 positions.
Tesla’s career page also lists dozens of energy-related positions in cities like Palo Alto, California, and Lathrop, where Tesla builds its large battery Megapacks. These positions range from engineering roles to jobs installing Megapacks and solar products.
Tesla’s customer-facing departments are also being replenished, with 268 service-related positions listed on July 15th, including 77 maintenance technicians, which is more than any other position or department. The company has also opened more than 60 sales and customer support positions.
