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Tesla’s intense work culture is a perfect fit for the industry’s most driven workers
Tesla, just like SpaceX, operates under Silicon Valley principles. While this enables Tesla to evolve faster than traditional automakers, such a system also requires employees to continuously dig deep in order to accomplish targets. When SpaceX was starting out, its recruiting pitch was simple — it was the “special forces” in the space industry — and it was this pitch that attracted talent who are hungry and motivated enough to help the company achieve its milestones over the years.
The same is true for Tesla. The electric car maker has been around for 15 years — a short period of time considering the pedigree of rival automakers — but the company has already established itself as a leader in premium electric vehicles. Such growth and progress did not come easy, though, with Elon Musk openly admitting to tech journalist Kara Swisher at an episode of the Recode Decode podcast that milestones such as the Model 3 production ramp were only made possible due to “excruciating effort” and “hundred hour workweeks by everyone.”
Such an intense work culture has attracted a lot of detractors. Critics have accused the company of overworking its employees, as reflected in multiple critical exposes published about Tesla’s operations this year alone. One of the executives who left Tesla, former Chief Accounting Officer David Morton, also cited the company’s pace of work as among the reasons behind his departure. With its intense work culture, ambitious targets, and its frenetic pace, Tesla’s work environment is definitely not for everyone.
As revealed by data from Handshake, a student career-services app, though, it is exactly this type of intensity that makes Tesla attractive to young, driven applicants. Handshake noted that Telsa received more job and internship applications than any other company listed on the app in the 2016-2017 academic year. Last year alone, Tesla collected almost 500,000 applications, which is about double the volume it received in 2016. In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, Cindy Nicola, vice president of global recruiting at Tesla, noted that the company had already received more applications to date this year than it did in all of 2017.
“Our interest from candidates continues to grow year over year,” she said.
Part of Tesla’s allure among young job applicants is the company’s mission — to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy — as well as the passion of its CEO, Elon Musk, a hands-on leader known to work long hours with his employees when needed. Kiran Karunakaran, who worked as an engineer at Tesla before he moved to Seattle, noted to the WSJ that before he was employed by the electric car company, he received a job offer from Apple. The iPhone-maker’s $115,000 per year offer was superior to Tesla’s 95,000 a year offer, but according to the engineer, the decision for him was a no-brainer.
“What really attracts young people to Tesla is instant gratification. You see these incredible things you’ve worked on come to fruition, on the road, in months,” he said.
Tesla’s attractiveness among applicants extends well into its internship program. For interns, the company’s flat organizational structure provides them with an opportunity to exercise their ideas and be heard. Anusha Atluri, a student from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business who worked as an intern at Tesla this past summer, experienced this firsthand. She worked at Tesla at a time when the company was ramping Model 3 production, and partway through her internship, she came up with an idea that could speed up the electric sedan’s lines.
The intern presented her idea in a Powerpoint presentation to her team, and it was well-received. She initially planned to discuss her suggestions with management the following week, but Tesla opted to implement her suggestions the next day. By the following week, the line was running more smoothly. “They were like, why not just try it tomorrow?” she said in a statement to the WSJ.
While the demanding hours and ambitious targets in Tesla could be exhausting, some workers have found themselves being underwhelmed in other companies after a tenure with the electric car maker. An engineering manager, who opted to remain anonymous, noted that she actually left Tesla after having a baby. When she was ready to get back on the workforce, she accepted an offer from a large tech company. Eventually, though, she felt that she was not a good fit. It did not take long before the engineering manager decided to go back to Tesla’s high-intensity environment.
“It isn’t just about working less. Everybody should have more work than they can possibly finish at all times. It forces the person to draw the line on when they give up—when they say, I’m done for the day. At Tesla, you have to achieve some kind of comfort knowing you didn’t do it all,” she said.
Elon Musk has noted that Tesla probably has the most exciting product roadmap in the market today. With exciting new electric cars and energy products in the pipeline, the company is bound to grow and expand its workforce even more. The company would most likely demand long hours and ambitious targets for its employees for years to come. Despite this, the company would likely continue to attract the most driven individuals that the talent pool has to offer — individuals that, just like Elon Musk, thrive in the face of pressure.
Elon Musk
How much of SpaceX will Elon Musk own after IPO will surprise you
SpaceX’s IPO filing confirms Musk will maintain his voting power to make key decisions for the company.
Elon Musk will retain dominant voting control of SpaceX after it goes public, according to the company’s IPO prospectus that was filed with the SEC. The filing reveals a dual-class equity structure giving Class B shareholders 10 votes each, concentrating power with Musk and a handful of other insiders, while Class A shares sold to public investors carry one vote.
Musk holds approximately 42% of SpaceX’s equity and controls roughly 79% of its votes through super-voting shares. He will simultaneously serve as CEO, CTO, and chairman of the nine-member board after the listing. Beyond that, the filing includes provisions that may limit shareholders’ influence over board elections and legal actions, forcing disputes into arbitration and restricting where they can be brought.
The case for Musk holding this level of control is grounded in SpaceX’s actual history. The company’s most important bets, from reusable rockets to a global satellite internet constellation, were decisions that ran against conventional aerospace thinking and would likely have faced resistance from a board accountable to investor gains. Fully reusable rockets were considered economically irrational by established industry players for years. Starlink, which now generates over $4 billion in annual operating profit, was widely dismissed as financially unviable when it was proposed. The argument for concentrated founder control seems straightforward, and the decisions that built SpaceX into what it is today required someone willing to ignore consensus and absorb years of losses.
SpaceX files confidentially for IPO that will rewrite the record books
For context, Musk’s position is significantly more dominant than Zuckerberg’s at Meta. The comparison with Tesla is also worth noting. When Tesla did its IPO in 2010, it did not issue dual-class shares. Musk has only recently pushed for enhanced voting protection, proposing at least 25% control at Tesla in 2024 after selling shares to fund his Twitter acquisition left him with around 13%.
SpaceX has clearly learned from that experience and structured the IPO differently by planning to allocate up to 30% of shares to retail investors, roughly three times the typical norm for a large offering. The roadshow is expected to begin the week of June 8, with a Nasdaq listing rumored to be a $1.75 trillion valuation and a $75 billion raise.
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Tesla bolsters App with new safety, insurance, and storage features
The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.
Tesla is bolstering its smartphone App with a series of new features to streamline operations for owners. The new additions include fixes to safety, its in-house insurance offering, and storage management for Dashcam clips.
The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.
But in classic Tesla fashion, the company is aiming to improve the offerings of the app, and it is doing so with a handful of new features. They were first discovered by Tesla App Updates.
Tesla Insurance – Safety Score 3.0
This is truly part of the Spring 2026 Update, but Tesla has now given more transparency on how FSD has saved people money on their premiums.
Tesla intertwines FSD with in-house Insurance for attractive incentive
Additionally, Tesla is now automatically awarding a Safety Score of 100 for every mile traveled on Full Self-Driving (Supervised).
Update Tracking
Updates traditionally appear on the App or on the Center Touchscreen in the car. There is nothing better than seeing that Green Arrow at the top of the screen, or opening your app and seeing that there is a Software Update available.
Now, there will be no need to manually check the app and initiate the download. Tesla is enabling a new feature that will automatically download updates for you.
Storage Management
Your USB drive can now be remotely formatted, and old Dashcam clips can be deleted straight from the phone. When you record a lot of things using the Dashcam feature, that storage fills up pretty quickly.
Now, manually deleting the Dashcam videos is easier than ever.
Trailer Light Test
This is perhaps the coolest and most crucial addition to the Tesla App, as those who tow and haul will now be able to trigger a diagnostic light sequence from the app while standing behind your trailer to ensure the brake lights work.
Verifying your trailer lights are connected properly and operating normally and as intended is normally a massive hassle.
Now, a new trigger will be available to initiate a diagnostic light sequence directly from your phone.
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Tesla is building private Superchargers just for Robotaxi
For Tesla, these Robotaxi-only Superchargers represent more than convenient parking spots. They are the first bricks in a vertically integrated autonomy platform—vehicles, energy, and software working in seamless concert.
Tesla is starting to build out Robotaxi-only Superchargers as the company is truly leaning on its Full Self-Driving and autonomy efforts to solve passenger travel.
Last week, the company filed pre-permits in Arizona’s East Valley for two dedicated, non-public charging sites stocked with next-generation V4 Superchargers. The filings mark the first visible evidence of purpose-built infrastructure exclusively for autonomous Tesla vehicles, as they state they are not for public use.
In Chandler, Tesla plans to install 56 V4 stalls on an industrial parcel along South Roosevelt Avenue. Site documents describe a high-capacity setup supported by new SRP transformers, switching cabinets, and upgrades to existing underground lines.
A second site in Mesa, located at 5349 E Main Street in another industrial zone, carries the same private-use designation. Both locations sit well away from public roads and customer traffic, ensuring the chargers serve only Tesla’s internal fleet.
The sites were spotted by Supercharger observer MarcoRP.
On the same day, Tesla also submitted a draft for another proposed location in the city of Mesa, also listed as private use.
This site is located in an industrial area on the east side of the city. pic.twitter.com/jCC1IsKKKw
— MarcoRP (@MarcoRPi1) April 17, 2026
Phoenix’s East Valley offers an ideal launchpad for Robotaxi Supercharging: the location has a clean, grid-like street layout and year-round mild weather that minimizes camera degradation. Additionally, Arizona has welcomed self-driving pilots since Waymo’s early days.
By securing private depots now, Tesla can optimize charging cycles, reduce downtime, and maintain full control over vehicle hygiene and security, critical factors for high-utilization Robotaxi operations.
The type of Supercharger is telling as well, as they are V4, Tesla’s fastest and most efficient buildout.
V4 stalls deliver faster power and support bidirectional charging, features that will let idle Robotaxis feed energy back to the grid during off-peak hours. Because the sites are closed to the public, Tesla avoids congestion, vandalism risks, and the scheduling conflicts that plague shared stations.
The timing is telling. With unsupervised Full Self-Driving hardware already rolling out across the lineup and Cybercab production targets looming, Tesla is shifting from vehicle development to ecosystem readiness.
Charging infrastructure has historically been the gating factor for ride-hailing scale; building it ahead of the vehicles signals confidence that regulatory and technical hurdles are nearing resolution.
Tesla has been spotted testing Cybercab units in Arizona over the past few months, as well.
Interestingly, the permits show V4 Superchargers in the plans, although Cybercab will likely utilize wireless charging:
Tesla Cybercab spotted with interesting charging solution, stimulating discussion
For Tesla, these Robotaxi-only Superchargers represent more than convenient parking spots. They are the first bricks in a vertically integrated autonomy platform—vehicles, energy, and software working in seamless concert.
It appears Tesla is preparing to begin building out Robotaxi-only Superchargers to avoid the congestion and keep its autonomous fleet charged up to get ride-hailers to their destinations.
How much of SpaceX will Elon Musk own after IPO will surprise you
Tesla bolsters App with new safety, insurance, and storage features
