Do Tesla and SpaceX pay engineers well?

Blippar $ root
Dec 21, 2017 41 Comments

Do Tesla and SpaceX pay engineers well compared to FANG?

Did any early engineers become millionaires working at Tesla?

Would it be financially lucrative to join a similar boring company at a very early stage?

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 TOP 41 Comments
  • Tesla yBHq00
    tesla pays pretty well, we'll beat offers from Google for the right engineers. my total t.c. is pushing 300k after a few years with the company
    Dec 21, 2017 8
    • Tesla yBHq00
      admittedly our benefits suck compared to google though
      Dec 21, 2017
    • Google hopeyoucan
      Still confused. Growth potential of what? Do you mean equity or career growth potential?

      If equity, I can just invest in tsla stock if I believe. If career growth, that's reasonable, although I d love more details on what ways specifically you think Tesla helps over fang type companies.
      Dec 21, 2017
    • Tesla yBHq00
      both - although to be clear if you're just chasing 100% comp you can always grab a bigger offer from elsewhere - my comment is more so that it's not as lopsided as you might believe after reading blind
      Dec 21, 2017
    • eBay zebra11
      So you won't beat Google's TC for the wrong engineers?
      Dec 22, 2017
    • Google / Eng
      IFMr24

      Google Eng

      PRE
      Uber
       IFMr24more
      I make 280k as a Google L3. B**** please.
      May 7
  • Intuit nilops
    I bought TSLA at 15... forget about getting rich, worry about being wealthy. Money can’t buy good health or happiness.
    Dec 21, 2017 9
    • Blippar $ root
      OP
      Not found. So become one instead!
      Dec 21, 2017
    • Google Noogler69
      @$ root: like heroin?
      Dec 21, 2017
    • Intuit nilops
      God created people in its own image. English as a language is inadequate to express these thoughts.
      Dec 21, 2017
    • Google Noogler69
      Man created God in his own image.
      Dec 21, 2017
    • Intuit nilops
      DBAP
      Dec 21, 2017
  • Snapchat / Eng
    Str8Rippin

    Snapchat Eng

    PRE
    PepsiCo
    BIO
    I'm Dic.
     Str8Rippinmore
    SpaceX pays abysmally. They offered me 1/3 of what my FANG offers were. It doesn't even registered compared to what I got with Snap. That's the place you work because you REALLY believe in it.
    Dec 21, 2017 10
    • Intuit nilops
      Why so coy about the Boring Company?
      Dec 21, 2017
    • Blippar $ root
      OP
      I never said the Boring Company. Just 'one of the early stage "boring" companies'.
      Dec 21, 2017
    • Microsoft
      yMcg47

      Microsoft

      BIO
      Amicitiae nostrae memoriam spero sempiternam fore
       yMcg47more
      You work for spacex because you believe in making elon musk even more successful
      Dec 21, 2017
    • SpaceX chbp55
      I work for SpaceX cause I believe in the company's mission, enjoy meaningfull 30 hours work week and neither Microsoft, nor Amazon and three more Seattle companies were able to beat their offer.
      Dec 31, 2017
    • Palantir / Eng M¥h68^!
      What was your offer?
      Jan 7, 2018
  • SpaceX chbp55
    I joined this year as Senior Software Engineer in Seattle, TC is 220k and growing.
    Dec 31, 2017 2
    • Palantir / Eng M¥h68^!
      What portion of that is stock? Do they value RSUs based on 409a or public ($20B) valuation?
      Jan 7, 2018
    • SpaceX chbp55
      About 36% is stock, the rest is base. No idea about 409a, but the company buys back at the current price, ie. if I get 100 shares at price X, i can sell them back at the same price. If I hold them and the price changes to Y, I can sell them for Y.
      Jan 8, 2018
  • Tesla Mech
    I know of a senior software engineer who makes more than 500k TC.
    Dec 21, 2017 1
    • Blippar $ root
      OP
      How are the work hours though?

      Is it enough to get thing done faster and better than everyone else while working just 30 hours a week, or do you still have to put in 50 hours a week because everyone else does, even if you might be a mad genius, and get burned out in the long run?
      Dec 22, 2017
  • Tesla yBHq00
    but we do have 2 bonus rounds per year so its not difficult to accumulate lots of RSUs/ISOs if you're a good engineer
    Dec 21, 2017 0
  • SpaceX chbp55
    I am not inflating, this is just my base and stocks, nothing else. Probably could make way more in another company with less interesting product and lack of mission I can identify with.
    Jan 12, 2018 0
  • Tesla yBHq00
    I haven't been with the company too long but from what I've heard lots of early engineers didn't hold on to equity long enough due to volatility so they sold early - so no unfortunately :/
    Dec 21, 2017 0
  • Blippar $ root
    OP
    What about early engineers, did any of them get rich?
    Dec 21, 2017 1
    • Apple / Eng Apl2Ggl
      Rich? Not sure. But I know many Tesla engineers who made a few millions (~3-5M range)
      Dec 22, 2017
  • SpaceX / Eng Singha
    NO. since tesla and spacex are not high performing stock companies they do not pay well. Not sure if people in the previous post are inflating all of the trivial HR benefits for the TR but u will make less than industry average working for Elon. SURE there are highly compensated people but they would be compensated much more else where.
    Jan 12, 2018 0