Between mirage and reality, the Tesla empire was forced to reveal its somewhat unusual salary strategy. Internal data relating to 100,000 employeesobtained in a document by Business Insiderhighlight an atypical remuneration policy: modest base salaries offset by stock awards potentially lucrative. A risky bet for employees, forced to choose between immediate financial stability and hypothetical enrichment. A policy perfectly in the image of Elon Musk: disruptive and very polarizing.
The car manufacturer favors a unique approach: offering fixed salaries lower than those of the market, while seducing candidates with promises of action. This strategy consists of using actions like a lever for attracting and retaining talentoffering them a piece of the pie if the company succeeds. This is a very (too?) common practice in start-ups and companies in this sector, but it carries many risks, particularly if the value of the shares falls. At Tesla, they tend to go on a roller coaster, like this summer, when they collapsed.
The numbers speak for themselves: for full-time positions in the United States, base salaries range between $35,000 and $324,000 per yearplacing Tesla at the back of the pack among tech giants, just ahead of Amazon.
A system calibrated for the “ultra-motivated”
“ The entire system is designed to identify fanatics “, says a current Tesla employee, familiar with the company’s recruitment processes. The hiring journey for engineers illustrates this philosophy: no less than nine interviews sometimes spanning several months. “ It’s not just about skills or knowledge. We are looking for people willing to learn and put in the extra hours », Explains a former recruiter who left the company in 2024.
Compensation through shares represents Tesla’s major argument to attract customers. In 2020 and 2021, 44 U.S. employees were offered stock worth more than $1 million. Top executives can even receive up to $20 million in stock, as evidenced by the cases of Drew Baglino and Zachary Kirkhorn, former senior vice president and CFO, respectively.
This strategy is, of course, not without risk for the mental health of employees. A former sales manager compares these stock grants to “ golden handcuffs » : « Stocks are the main bait. Even dissatisfied, you keep your head down while waiting for the vesting period “. In reality, by doing this, Tesla does everything create a real financial dependence on the performance of the companywhich can then generate considerable stress among employees.
A company veteran warns new recruits: “ I was lucky to arrive early, but I see a lot of young engineers hoping for the same benefits. I doubt they will get them “. For the moment, neither Tesla nor its CEO did not respond to requests from Business Insider after publication of the document. Is this really surprising? Executives, including Musk, are often the main beneficiaries of these compensation policies. Sometimes, silence is goldenand the expression takes on its full meaning here.
- Tesla offers modest base salaries, offset by stock grant plans.
- The remuneration system favors the most loyal employees able to give the maximum amount of time to the company.
- The latter is very profitable for managers, but risky for employees when the share price fluctuates.
