How to Get Hired at Tesla: Job interview System, Tips

How to Get Hired at Tesla: Job interview System, Tips
  • Tesla attracted extra than 3.6 million applications in 2022.
  • Tesla’s hiring system can entail up to 9 interviews, a presentation, and a letter to Elon Musk.
  • 10 Tesla engineers broke down the approach and gave ideas for finding a job at Musk’s enterprise.

Millions of folks are lining up to get the job done for Tesla.

The electrical carmaker stated it gained much more than 3.6 million programs in 2022. But engineers at Tesla say it’s no tiny feat to land a job at Elon Musk’s most very well-recognised business.

Tesla’s selecting course of action for engineers can have to have as several as 9 interviews, a collection of tests, and in some cases, a letter to Musk himself.

Small business Insider spoke with 10 current Tesla engineers about what it takes to perform at the enterprise. The staff members spoke underneath the issue of anonymity to safeguard their work, but their identities and roles at Tesla have been confirmed by BI.

Quite a few engineers stated it took a number of tries to land a purpose at the company, and the method could be laborious. Commonly, candidates need to start from the starting of the course of action when applying for a new function externally.

From start to complete, it can choose up to 6 months to acquire an offer letter.

The first action in the software approach is pretty regular

Tesla typically responds to a effective application by location up an job interview with a recruiter or a human-sources staff.

Tesla engineers reported they secured an original job interview by either sending their résumé into an application on Tesla’s professions web page, chatting with a Tesla agent at a networking celebration, or having a colleague move along their résumé through the company’s inner advice procedure.

“Often it actually is who you know at Tesla,” a person engineer who has labored at the organization for six several years mentioned. “It aids to go to a feeder faculty where by a classmate can assistance suggest you for a part.”

Recruiters generally sift by way of thousands of purposes, giving interviews to a utmost of only 20 or so applicants, in accordance to four engineers who’ve been associated in the employing method. Only about 50 % of individuals candidates would make it to the up coming action, they explained.


tesla fremont factory

Tesla employs extra than 140,000 men and women globally.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images



Right after the first culture-match job interview — which incorporates classic thoughts about why folks want to perform at Tesla and how they jibe with other people — candidates who development typically chat separately with a supervisor and at the very least a single engineer from their prospective workforce. These interviews are additional specialized and sometimes include things like a choose-property or are living examination.

“Tesla will take a no-bullshit solution,” one engineer explained to BI. “At other companies, you can sometimes get away with indicating something to audio remarkable. You won’t be able to do that at Tesla. If you do not know something, have up to it since they will usually request the stick to-up issues.”

Panel interviews can previous up to 6 several hours

The subsequent phase in Tesla’s selecting process involves a presentation and a sequence of rapid-hearth interviews that can get anyplace from 4 to 6 several hours.

Applicants are commonly explained to to current on a former challenge for 15 to 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A session on the undertaking. Tesla personnel mentioned it was greatest for early-job applicants to present on college or university group jobs or own ventures.

Four to 6 engineers sit in on the presentation and later on crack off to interview the prospect on their very own for about 30 minutes each.

“We attempt to depart it very open up-ended for the reason that it is really a superior way to uncover pink flags,” an engineer who has been concerned in the recruiting method claimed concerning the presentation prompt. “We explain to them not to existing one thing confidential, and which is the largest crimson flag if they present a little something like that. It can be an simple no if we know they will not be reliable.”

Some Tesla engineers explained they expended more than 40 hours preparing for the presentation more than the program of various months. The panel can get area about Zoom or in human being. It also involves a brief break in the middle of the session to give panelists time to just take lunch.


A red Tesla outside a Tesla showroom.

Tesla reported it acquired extra than 3.6 million programs in 2022.

JOHN THYS / Getty



“You will need to make guaranteed you know the technological particulars of your project inside and out,” a person engineer mentioned. “It does not have to be the most complicated tech so prolonged as you can talk about what you’ve got carried out in fantastic detail. You require to be equipped to explain to them why you approached it the way you did and address other strategies of carrying out it as perfectly.”

A person engineer with information of the procedure explained that following the panel, the staff would satisfy to give a “blind vote” on the prospect, indicating the panelists all submit their scores at the moment. Candidates are scored on a scale of a single to four. The engineer reported that if a single panel member have been to give the prospect a rating of a person and could back up their opinion, the individual’s application would typically be turned down, whilst a score of a three or a four would be seen as a indicator of acceptance for the future use.

Two engineers claimed only about fifty percent the applicants who designed it to the panel phase would be chosen.

Sit tight — it could acquire 6 months to land the position

Depending on the job, some candidates are available the work following a effective panel interview. For increased-level positions, the candidates can go on to job interview with director or VP-amount employees.

Three workers explained some applicants had been needed to fill out a sort that would be despatched to a VP or director-amount worker outlining three good reasons they would be a good match for Tesla. Some of the notes would even be passed onto Musk, the engineers said. Previous yr, the Tesla CEO stated in an e mail to team that he ought to approve all new hires.

From begin to complete, the overall process could choose any place from a person to six months, the engineers explained. Seven engineers claimed Tesla had the most intensive software course of action they’d observed in the marketplace.

“Half the time, we miss out on out due to the fact we are as well slow,” an engineer with knowledge of the using the services of method reported. “We know it, but it really is set up in some methods to uncover the men and women who are so gung-ho they are keen to wait. They’re people today who’d possibly get a greater foundation pay out at a diverse enterprise, but they have the option to funds in on Tesla inventory much too.”

A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

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