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Elon Musk: The King of Job Creation
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.
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.
Tesla just raised Model Y prices for the first time in two years, with the largest increase being $1,000.
The move signals shifting dynamics in the competitive electric vehicle market as the company continues to work on balancing demand, profitability, and accessibility.
The new pricing affects premium trims while leaving entry-level options unchanged. The Model Y Premium Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) now starts at $45,990, a $1,000 increase.
The Model Y Premium All-Wheel Drive (AWD)—previously referred to in the post as simply “Model Y AWD”—rises to $49,990, also up $1,000. The top-tier Model Y Performance sees a more modest $500 bump, bringing its starting price to $57,990.
Tesla Model Y prices just went up:
New prices:
🚗 Model Y Premium RWD: $45,990 – up $1,000
🚗 Model Y AWD: $49,990 – up $1,000
🚗 Model Y Performance: $57,990 – up $500 https://t.co/e4GhQ0tj4H pic.twitter.com/TCWqr3oqiV— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) May 16, 2026
Base models remain untouched to preserve affordability. The entry-level Model Y RWD holds steady at $39,990, and the base Model Y AWD stays at $41,990. This selective approach keeps the crossover accessible for budget-conscious buyers while extracting more revenue from higher-margin configurations.
After years of aggressive price cuts to stimulate volume amid slowing EV adoption and rising competition from rivals like BYD, Ford, and GM, Tesla appears confident in underlying demand. Recent lineup refreshes for the 2026 Model Y, including refreshed styling and efficiency gains, have helped maintain its status as America’s best-selling EV.
By protecting base prices, Tesla avoids alienating price-sensitive customers while improving margins on the more popular variants.
Tesla Model Y ownership review after six months: What I love and what I don’t
For consumers, the changes are relatively modest—under 3% on affected trims—and still position the Model Y competitively against gas-powered SUVs in the same class. Federal tax credits and potential state incentives may further offset costs for eligible buyers.
This marks a subtle but notable shift from the deep discounting era that defined much of 2024 and 2025. As the EV market matures into 2026, Tesla’s pricing strategy will be closely watched for clues about production ramps, new variants like the rumored longer-wheelbase Model Y, and broader profitability goals.
In short, today’s adjustment reflects a company that remains dominant yet pragmatic—willing to test higher pricing where demand supports it. It is unlikely to deter consumers from choosing other options.
Elon Musk cannot be fired from SpaceX, and there’s a reason for that.
In a blunt post on X on Friday, Elon Musk confirmed plans to structurally shield his leadership at SpaceX, ensuring he cannot be fired while tying a potential trillion-dollar compensation package to the company’s long-term goal of establishing a self-sustaining colony on Mars.
Yes, I need to make sure SpaceX stays focused on making life multiplanetary and extending consciousness to the stars, not pandering to someone’s bullshit quarterly earnings bonus!
Obviously, IF SpaceX succeeds in this absurdly difficult goal, it will be worth many orders of…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 15, 2026
The revelation stems from a Financial Times report detailing SpaceX’s intention to restructure its governance and compensation framework. The moves are designed to protect Musk’s control and align his incentives with the company’s founding mission rather than short-term financial pressures. Musk’s reply left no ambiguity:
“Yes, I need to make sure SpaceX stays focused on making life multiplanetary and extending consciousness to the stars, not pandering to someone’s bullshit quarterly earnings bonus!”
He added that success in this “absurdly difficult goal” would generate value “many orders of magnitude more than the economy of Earth,” though he cautioned that the journey will not be smooth. “Don’t expect entirely smooth sailing along the way,” Musk wrote.
The strategy reflects Musk’s deep concerns about how public-market expectations could derail SpaceX’s core objective. Founded in 2002, SpaceX has repeatedly stated its purpose is to reduce the cost of space travel and ultimately make humanity a multiplanetary species.
Unlike Tesla, which went public in 2010 and has faced repeated battles over Musk’s compensation and board influence, SpaceX remains privately held. Musk has long resisted taking the rocket company public precisely to avoid the quarterly earnings treadmill that forces most CEOs to prioritize short-term stock performance over ambitious, high-risk projects.
By embedding protections against his removal and linking any outsized pay package to verifiable milestones—such as a functioning Mars colony—SpaceX aims to insulate its leadership from activist investors or board members who might demand faster profits or safer bets.
Musk has referenced past experiences, including his ouster from OpenAI and shareholder lawsuits at Tesla, as cautionary tales. In those cases, he argued, external pressures risked diluting the original vision.
Critics may view the arrangement as excessive, especially given Musk’s already substantial voting power and wealth. Supporters, however, argue it is a necessary safeguard for a company pursuing goals measured in decades rather than quarters. Achieving a Mars colony would require sustained investment in Starship development, orbital refueling, life-support systems, and in-situ resource utilization—technologies that may deliver no immediate financial return.
Musk’s post underscores a broader philosophical point: true breakthrough innovation often demands tolerance for volatility and a willingness to ignore conventional business wisdom. As SpaceX prepares for increasingly ambitious Starship test flights and eventual crewed missions, the new governance structure signals that the company’s North Star remains unchanged—humanity’s expansion beyond Earth.
Whether the trillion-dollar package materializes depends on execution, but Musk’s message is clear: SpaceX exists to reach the stars, not to chase the next earnings beat. For investors or employees who share that vision, the protections are not a perk—they are a prerequisite for success.
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Tesla discloses two Robotaxi crashes to NHTSA
Newly unredacted data filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals the two incidents.
Tesla has disclosed information on two low-speed crashes that occurred in Austin with its Robotaxi platform. These incidents occurred with teleoperators steering the vehicle, and there were no passengers in the car at the time they happened.
Newly unredacted data filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals the two incidents.
The first crash took place in July 2025, shortly after Tesla launched its nascent Robotaxi network in Austin. The ADS reportedly struggled to move forward while stopped on a street. A teleoperator assumed control, gradually accelerating and turning left toward the roadside. The vehicle then mounted the curb and struck a metal fence.
In the second incident, in January 2026, the ADS was traveling straight when the safety monitor requested navigation support. The teleoperator took over from a stop, continued forward, and collided with a temporary construction barricade at approximately 9 mph, scraping the front-left fender and tire.
Tesla Robotaxi service in Austin achieves monumental new accomplishment
Tesla has previously told lawmakers that teleoperators are authorized to pilot vehicles remotely—but only at speeds below 10 mph, as the only maneuvers they were approved to perform were repositioning in awkward areas.
“This capability enables Tesla to promptly move a vehicle that may be in a compromising position, thereby mitigating the need to wait for a first responder or Tesla field representative to manually recover the vehicle,” the company stated in filings earlier this year.
Before this week, Tesla redacted the NHTSA reports, but they decided to reveal all 17 Robotaxi incidents recorded since the launch in Austin last Summer. Most of the other crashes involved the Tesla being struck by other road users and were not caused by the self-driving suite itself.
There were other incidents, including two additional self-caused accidents involving the ADS clipping side mirrors on parked cars. In September 2025, one Robotaxi struck a dog that darted into the roadway (the dog escaped unharmed), while another made an unprotected left turn into a parking lot and hit a metal chain.
Although Waymo and Zoox have reported more total crashes, Tesla operates at a far smaller scale. The cautious pace reflects the company’s broader safety concerns; it has been very slow with the Robotaxi rollout to ensure the suite is ready for operation.
Last month, CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that “making sure things are completely safe” remains the primary bottleneck to expanding the network, describing the company’s approach as “very cautious.”
The unredacted filings arrive amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of autonomous vehicles. NHTSA recently closed a separate probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software repeatedly striking parking-lot obstacles such as bollards and chains—a problem that also prompted a recall at Waymo last year.
Tesla Robotaxi has been a widely successful program in its early days of operation, and the transparency Tesla brings here is greatly appreciated. Incidents will happen, of course, but the honesty gives customers and regulators a sense of where Tesla is in terms of developing its self-driving and fully autonomous ride-hailing suite.
Tesla Model Y prices just went up for the first time in two years
Elon Musk explains why he cannot be fired from SpaceX
