Recently, Business Insider "scrutinized" Tesla's database and revealed the salaries of nearly 100,000 employees. Although this data is outdated from late 2021, it is still enough to create a comparative picture of Tesla's salaries compared to its competitors at the same time.
The result? Tesla pays lower base salaries than other auto giants, but makes up for it with stock options—a gift that hopefully will make employees millionaires in the future.
Salaries for some popular positions at Tesla:
Analyst
Average base salary: $93,000
Maximum base salary: $120,000
Average stock option: $20,000
Maximum stock options: $80,000
Stock option vesting rate: 88%
Associate QA Engineer
Average base salary: $85,000
Maximum base salary: $108,000
Average stock option: $30,000
Maximum stock options: $40,000
Stock option vesting rate: 68%
Senior Hardware Engineer
Average base salary: $151,215
Maximum base salary: $180,000
Average stock option: $55,000
Maximum stock options: $450,000
Stock option vesting rate: 67%
Senior Manager Accounting
Average base salary: $173,000
Maximum base salary: $210,000
Average stock option: $65,000
Maximum stock options: $500,000
Stock option ratio: 100%
Senior Technical Program Manager
Average base salary: $139,500
Maximum base salary: $180,000
Average stock option: $45,375
Maximum stock options: $450,000
Stock option vesting rate: 86%
The Road to Millionaire - Just Believe in Company Stock
Tesla employees accept low salaries but stock options are the "ultimate weapon". Tesla's stock has increased more than 1,000% in the past 5 years. In November, when Trump was re-elected, Tesla's stock increased 8%, pushing the company's value to the $1 trillion mark.
According to Business Insider, in 2020-2021, about 44 Tesla employees were awarded stock worth more than $1 million. Elon Musk once boasted: "We gave stock options to everyone and turned a lot of people who didn't know anything about stocks into millionaires."
However, when it comes to average base salary and stock options for software engineers, Tesla still lags behind giants like Meta, Google, and Amazon, according to a survey from Levels.fyi.
Eye-catching Stock Awards for Senior Executives
According to Business Insider, stock options were not only given to ordinary employees but also to big names like Drew Baglino (former Senior Vice President) and Zachary Kirkhorn (former CFO), with each receiving shares worth up to $20 million; Omead Afshar, Musk's close assistant, received $10 million in shares.
A Tesla engineer shared, "Working at Tesla is like gambling with a startup: Sometimes you have to work day and night and don't know what tomorrow will bring. But if you bet, the reward must be 'worthy'."
Tesla's Secret to Attracting Talent
According to an employee, Tesla has not changed its hiring criteria: Passion is a must and sometimes you have to sacrifice your personal life. Remember when Musk encouraged employees to sleep in the office?
A former recruiter said Tesla's interview process can last months, with at least nine interviews — both as a screening process and to test a candidate's patience and dedication.
“It’s not just about being smart and experienced. Tesla needs people who are willing to learn and work overtime if needed.”
With more than 140,000 employees globally by the end of 2023, Tesla announced in April that it would cut at least 10% of its workforce, with the remaining number expected to be around 120,000.
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