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Elon Musk: The King of Job Creation

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Since the launch of Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity, serial tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s companies have consistently created thousands of high paying jobs worldwide. SpaceX has grown from a small team of engineers working out of a warehouse to a global team of over 5,000 employees. Similarly, Tesla has gone from a garage operation in Palo Alto to an operation consisting of over 18,000 employees worldwide. SolarCity, backed by Musk and founded by his cousins, was acquired in 2016 by Tesla and employs over 12,000 workers.

Musk’s role in job creation has has had a deep impact on thousands of lives, and on a global scale. Between all of his companies, Musk employs over 35,000 employees globally, of which 30,000+ are in the US.

Advanced Manufacturing: Tesla

Since Tesla began production of the Roadster in 2008, the company has been able to put more than 190,000 electric vehicles on the road and reduce vehicle emissions on a global level. In addition to the environmental contributions, Tesla’s economic activities have spanned far and wide, leading to the coined term, “The Tesla Effect.”

“I define the ‘Tesla effect’ as a positive shift toward changing Reno’s national perception for the better. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Business, and many other national publications have written about Reno’s emerging neighborhoods, such as Midtown, downtown, and the Fourth Street corridor. And this is due in large part to our booming technology industry with billions of dollars being invested from some of Fortune’s highest-ranked companies, which includes Tesla, Switch, Amazon, and Microsoft.” said Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve in a comment to Teslarati.

Reno has seen a complete boom in job growth and a resurgence in the housing market near Tesla’s $5 billion Gigafactory facility. Reno expects to gain 80,000 indirect jobs created through recent developments (20-30k indirectly from the Gigafactory) and host to 40,000 homes expected to be constructed by 2020. Tesla’s effects on the market could even create a “housing crisis” as builders struggle to build enough homes to meet demand according to Mike Kazmierski, president of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.

Elon Musk in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 8, 2014. Photographer: Yuriko Naka for Bloomberg

In Reno alone, Tesla has created 1,000 full-time local jobs at the Gigafactory and over 1,900 construction jobs. A Tesla spokesperson tells us that the company expects to hire another 1,000 employees in the first half of 2017 while strategic partner Panasonic expects to hire 2,000 workers at the factory. Tesla expects to employ 6,500 full-time employees at the facility in 2018 and as many as 10,000 once the Gigafactory hits peak production

Engineering the Future: SpaceX

SpaceX currently employs over 5,000 employees and has operations all across the country. The company has been in hyper-growth mode for over a decade and has launched 29 rockets successfully into space to date. The company currently has over 800 job openings which is expected to increase as the company prepares for a busy year to come.

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Thousands of skilled labor jobs: SolarCity (now part of Tesla Inc.)

SolarCity was founded in 2006 by Musk’s cousins Peter and Lindon Rive and financially backed by an initial $10M investment from Musk. Since then, the company has completed projects in 27 states which includes solar installations for over 300,000 customers, making up over 2.5GW of solar.

Photographer: Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images

SolarCity employs over 12,000 workers and has nearly 1,900 job openings posted on their site. The company plans to start producing its own solar cells and solar roof panels in the second half of 2017 from its Buffalo, NY plant. The plant plans to employ more than 1,400 people as they prepare to begin production later this year.

Overall, Musk has played a crucial role in job creation in the 21st century as his companies look to surpass 40,000 jobs created this year. This makes Musk one of the most significant voices on the White House’s Manufacturing Jobs Council as he continues to create thousands of high-paying jobs in the US. Musk’s companies have a combined total of 4,800+ job openings globally.

 

Christian Prenzler is currently the VP of Business Development at Teslarati, leading strategic partnerships, content development, email newsletters, and subscription programs. Additionally, Christian thoroughly enjoys investigating pivotal moments in the emerging mobility sector and sharing these stories with Teslarati's readers. He has been closely following and writing on Tesla and disruptive technology for over seven years. You can contact Christian here: christian@teslarati.com

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Tesla loses Model Y program manager in second blow in single day

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Credit: Tesla Manufacturing

Tesla has lost its Model Y Program Manager, he announced on LinkedIn, marking the second major departure from the company today.

Emmanuel Lamacchia has been in the role for 4 years and 7 months, responsible for the rollout of the all-electric crossover in several markets.

The Model Y became the best-selling vehicle in the world for two years under Lamacchia’s watch, making this a huge loss for the company. However, it seems the decision was made under Lamacchia’s own initiative.

He confirmed his decision on LinkedIn:

“After 8 incredible years, I’m moving on from Tesla.

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What a journey it’s been… from leading NPI for Model 3 and Model Y variants to becoming the Vehicle Program Manager for Model Y, the best-selling car in the world!

Leading the All-New Model Y launch was the highlight: converting all 4 factories across 3 continents in just 2 weeks. Something that had never been done before in the auto industry.

To the teams who made this possible: you should be incredibly proud. This achievement belongs to you: the engineers, designers, buyers, and associates in Fremont, Shanghai, Berlin, and Austin who turned an impossible timeline into reality.

Grateful to the leaders who trusted me with programs that stretched my capabilities and to the cross-functional partners who showed me that great solutions come from collaboration, not hierarchy.

Tesla taught me how to move fast without breaking things and how to scale from prototypes to millions of units.

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Excited for what’s next. More to share soon.”

It marks the second major program loss for Tesla today, as it also bid farewell to Cybertruck and Model 3 Program Manager Siddhant Awasthi, who said he left voluntarily in “one of the hardest decisions of his life.”

Tesla Cybertruck and Model 3 program manager steps down

Lamacchia was at Tesla for just a shade under eight years, and previously worked for Rolls-Royce for roughly the same amount of time.

After the loss of both Lamacchia and Awasthi today, Tesla has lost a handful of key executives in 2025, including:

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  • David Imai, Director of Design
  • David Lau, VP of Software Engineering
  • Mark Westfall, Head of Mechanical Engineering
  • Prashant Menon, Regional Director in India
  • Vineet Mehta, Head of Battery Architecture
  • Omead Afshar, VP/Head of Sales and Manufacturing in North America
  • Milan Kovac, Head of Optimus Team
  • Jenna Ferrua, Director of HR
  • Troy Jones, VP of Sales, Service, and Delivery
  • Pete Bannon, VP of Hardware Engineering
  • Piero Landolfi, Director of Service
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Tesla prepares to expand Giga Texas with new Optimus production plant

Drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer recognized Tesla construction crews performing ground leveling and clearing efforts at the plant earlier today.

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Credit: Tesla Optimus | X

Tesla is preparing to expand Gigafactory Texas once again with a brand new facility that will house the eventual manufacturing efforts for Optimus, its humanoid robot.

It is already building some units on a Pilot line at the Fremont Factory in Northern California, but Tesla is planning to build the vast majority of its Optimus project at Gigafactory Texas.

Tesla Optimus gets its latest job, and it’s not in the company’s factories

It will build one million units per year in Fremont, but CEO Elon Musk said the company would build 10 million units every year in Texas at a new building at Giga Texas.

Musk said:

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“I think there could be tens of billions of Optimus robots out there. Um, now obviously it’s very important we pay close attention to safety here. Then a 10 million unit uh per year production line here the I don’t know where we’re going to put the 100 million unit production line. on Mars. Maybe on Mars, I don’t know.”

Evidently, Tesla is ready to begin thinking about the production efforts of Optimus beyond a theoretical standpoint and is starting to prepare for the construction of the manufacturing plant on Giga Texas property.

Drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer recognized Tesla construction crews performing ground leveling and clearing efforts at the plant earlier today:

Production is still slated for 2027, at least at Gigafactory Texas. As previously mentioned, the company is building some units in Fremont for the time being, at least until subsequent versions of the Optimus project advance.

Tesla has done a great job of advancing Optimus forward, but it also has truly grand expectations for the project.

Musk said it could potentially be the biggest product in the history of the planet, as it will revolutionize the way humans perform tasks, probably eliminating monotonous tasks from everyday life.

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Tesla reveals its first Semi customer after launch

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla revealed its first customer for the all-electric Semi truck after it launches next year. Who it truly is should not be a surprise.

The Semi is going to finally start deliveries to new companies outside of Tesla’s pilot program starting in 2026. The company has been building a dedicated production facility in Reno, Nevada, that has finally taken shape, but Tesla was evidently not finished with the Semi’s development.

Tesla shares rare peek at Semi factory’s interior

Last week at the Annual Shareholder Meeting, Tesla said it had implemented some new designs into the Semi, helping with efficiency, updating its design, and making it a more suitable vehicle for hauling loads, as the changes also helped increase payload.

Tesla has obtained a lengthy list of companies that have committed to implementing the Semi in their own fleets, hoping to bring their logistics lineups up to date with electric powertrains and autonomous technologies.

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While it is already operating a pilot program with PepsiCo. and Frito-Lay, Tesla will expand to other businesses, primarily using it internally after its launch.

Head of the Semi program at Tesla, Dan Priestley, said the company would be the first user of the vehicle after its launch next year. It has been using it to a certain extent, but the company has not been able to completely abandon gas haulers.

Instead, it will implement the Semi into its fleet for more sustainable vehicle logistics starting next year:

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Tesla has already received orders for the Semi from a variety of large companies, including Walmart, Sysco, Anheuser-Busch, UPS, DHL, J.B. Hunt, among others.

Many analysts see the Tesla Semi as a major contributor to future growth and increasing value within the company, especially from a Wall Street perspective. Some firms say the Semi is one of several near and medium-term contributors to the company increasing its market cap.

Cantor Fitzgerald is just one of those firms, as last week it explicitly listed the Semi as a catalyst.

Analyst Andres Sheppard said, “Overall, we remain bullish on TSLA over the medium to long term. We continue to see meaningful future upside from Energy Storage & Deployment, FSD, Robotaxis/Cybercab, Semis, and Optimus Bots.”

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