Auto IndustryFeb 16, 2022
ToyotatoSE76

Tesla Engineer Offer Questions - Non-software Engineer

I just interviewed for a position at Tesla at their Design Studio in SoCal. What does the compensation and benefits look like at Tesla? What would an offer look like? Is there an signing bonus, relocation, housing assistance, etc? Is stock still part of the compensation? Is the stock even worth it the same was as before (meaning the price probably won’t surge up the same way it has in the past)? Currently, I work for Toyota in Plano, TX (outside of Dallas). There are some pretty interesting benefits working for Toyota that other automakers don’t have. There’s the lease car program (rates are extremely good and it includes insurance). At my job level, I also get paid OT (it’s expected that most people will work at least 50/week). I’ve got a BSME and have been in the industry for ~11years in various roles. I know moving some Texas to SoCal will be an expensive change. Friends who have made the move to other EV start ups in the area have said that housing was the biggest shock. Gas and Food are more expensive, but they didn’t notice it as much. I’m overall looking for something new and don’t want to move to Michigan. I applied at Rivian, Faraday Future, and Lucid as well. Base: ~$105k OT: ~$75k (unusually high for 2021) Bonus: ~$15k Additional: Lease car is $300/month for ~$50k vehicle.

Tesla telsagoob Feb 16, 2022

They offer relocation, stock and base pay. Afaik, there is no signon bonus or OT, but i know commissions are there. Moving from texas to cali will be a huge change. Instead ask for any location in Texas.

Toyota toSE76 OP Feb 17, 2022

Unfortunately, the job is pretty specific to the LA Area. When you say “commissions”, what do you mean? That sounds like something in sales, but I’ve never heard it used in engineering.

Tesla telsagoob Feb 17, 2022

My bad. The commission I spoke about is mainly for sales as you said. Well, if its the case with LA, negotiate well and see what can be done. Else taxes will eat you up

ARM QkzO42 Feb 17, 2022

Where in SoCal? COL is quite different between locations (e.g. LA vs Orange vs San Diego). I would say negotiate aggressively because cost of life and *tax* in California may eat away your salary.

Toyota toSE76 OP Feb 17, 2022

LA area. I want to negotiate very aggressively, but I also realize there’s a limit as well. It seems like Tesla is at its core a software company. I’m not sure if they prize other fields the same way.

Tesla Npvq51 Feb 18, 2022

What is OT?

Toyota toSE76 OP Feb 18, 2022

Overtime. Something that most other companies don’t offer engineers.

Tesla strctrlPH Feb 18, 2022

Join the Studio, they goof off all day and make the rest of us design dumb shit

Toyota toSE76 OP Feb 18, 2022

Are you in engineering? I’m curious to know your perspective on things

Tesla strctrlPH Feb 18, 2022

Sure, DM

Canoo jOxR34 Feb 24, 2022

Out of curiosity, why not looking at Canoo? Could stay local

Toyota toSE76 OP Feb 24, 2022

I’ll have to look at the open positions. When I looked before, there wasn’t anything that was similar for the position I applied for