How an immigrant from Belarus got to work at Tesla

For a couple of weeks in the US, I realized that there is a special relationship with electric cars. Judge for yourself: the best parking places near major stores and shopping centers are designed specifically for them, parking places are always on the ground floor for electric vehicles, and large IT companies, among other things, charge their own electric vehicles for free.

In the left lane (carpool) on freeways and highways you can only go if there are 2 and more people in the car. But if you're on an electric car, you can forget about this restriction. The main production of Tesla is located in Silicon Valley - in the city of Fremont.

Tesla T-shirt for 35 dollars

The first place of my acquaintance with Tesla Motors was the showroom of the company in San Jose. This is a relatively small room in which there are 2,5 cars - two regular and one model showing the base of the car.

Here you can find out all the details about the car (including with the help of special videos), place an order for the car, select the necessary equipment, and, of course, sit inside the Tesla Model S.

In addition, in the showroom all kinds of Tesla souvenirs are sold. You will have to pay a lot for them (as well as for a car): for example, a Tesla t-shirt costs 35 dollars, and a baseball cap is 25.

Photo 42.tut.by

Even before the trip to the States, I wrote a letter to the press service of Tesla Motors to help organize a tour to the plant in Fremont, but I didn’t wait for an answer. Already being in California, I came from the other side, asking for a small tour of a Belarusian working in this company.

But this attempt to get into the holy of holies of Tesla was not crowned with success. The head of our compatriot contacted the press service, but she banned any presence of strangers. The fact is that at that time, Tesla Motors was preparing an announcement of the Tesla Model X crossover and were afraid that at least some detail about the new product would fall into the press before the official announcement.

Therefore, I had to meet with Sergey in the parking lot near the plant. But this is not all: one of the requirements of my interlocutor was the refusal to take photographs - will his leadership read a little?

Photo 42.tut.by

A lot of tesla

The first impression of the factory in Fremont - a lot of Tesla. Before that, I repeatedly noticed Tesla Model S on the roads of Silicon Valley, but for the first time I saw such a cluster of identical cars, each of which cost at least 75 thousand dollars.

Here are Tesla employees, Tesla visitors, Tesla, who are waiting for their customers to come for them, as well as Tesla, who brought them for service. Here is also a fast charge station. There were no empty seats on it.

The plant is huge. Only half of it is visible in this photo. Immediately behind it opens a view of the picturesque hills of the Mission Peak reserve.

Photo 42.tut.by

Check out the scale of the plant above (thanks, Google Maps). The central entrance (with a white awning) in the photo above, I noted the arrow.

By the way, huge production areas did not always belong to Tesla. Previously, this plant was owned by New United Motor Manufacturing (a joint venture of Toyota and General Motors), but something went wrong, and Tesla Motors became the new owner. According to Sergey, now about 1000 machines are being assembled here per week.

The plant is growing very actively, says my interlocutor. In the last year alone, the number of employees working at it has approximately doubled.

Ilon Musk sits with everyone

The office part of the plant, which also includes programmers, is a huge room the size of a stadium. It is interesting that the head of the company Ilona Mask is not at all annoying to sit with everyone. You can easily come to him and say hello.

- However, recently Mask is not often seen here, he spends more time in Hawthorne (a suburb of Los Angeles), in the SpaceX office, - said Sergey.

Photo 42.tut.by

“This is a shuttle for transporting employees between the buildings,” explains my interlocutor. - He constantly runs through the plant, saving staff time. Despite the fact that the plant territory is a single unit, the road from one end to the other may take 20 − 30 minutes. Or a couple of minutes on this black bus.

In addition, shuttles ply between the plant and the office in Palo Alto (the distance between them is about 30 km), as well as delivering staff to Fremont after the end of the working day, said Sergey. All this for free.

Moreover, employees ride bicycles around the plant (a common practice in the valley - read about Google, Apple and LinkedIn headquarters) This, by the way, is encouraged.

- There are special cycling check-points here, if you drive past, you get 5 dollars. A little, but nice, - laughs Sergey. - And for cyclists there are provided showers to refresh yourself from the road from home.

I could not resist and asked my compatriot about the car. Maybe employees are required to travel exclusively to Tesla?

“If you work at Tesla, it’s not at all necessary that your car should be this manufacturer,” said Sergey. - I don’t have Tesla, 75 of thousands of dollars - it’s still expensive even by the standards of Silicon Valley IT specialists. Of course, if you are a big fan of these cars, then you can get into a loan or buy a lease, but is it worth it? In general, I am not a fan of cars to talk about which brand is better and why. For me it is primarily a means of transportation.

Holiday on 2 − 3 of the month

In Tesla Motors, Sergey was struck first of all by the fact that the IT division is almost entirely composed of Indians and Mexicans. People of other nationalities like him, only a few people work there.

- There is no special download, and there is no strict control. The working day starts at 9 in the morning, but at this time there are very few people here - usually everyone arrives later, to watch for 10. But those who come later also leave not in 6, but in 7 evenings. At the same time, nobody controls the number of hours spent in the office. In general, questions on the schedule are always solved together with the manager.

My wife goes to English courses, and someone needs to look after two small children at this time. I tell the manager: so and so, 3 times a week I need to work from home in the morning, and he: “no problem.” The main thing here is that the assigned tasks are completed.

Photo 42.tut.by

According to Sergey, many Mexicans work at Tesla Motors, and they often go to their homes - 2-3 times a year, usually for a month right away.

- It is explained very simply - they initially worked on Tesla, only remotely. Then they began to come here periodically, but in the end it ended up being here almost all the time, but 2 − 3 worked remotely for the month of the year. I talked to a couple of Mexicans, and they treat these trips as vacation: they try to solve all working issues before departure, and at home they are just online, just in case.

I wanted to get into Google, but it did not work

In America, Sergei turned out, one might say, by chance.

- It was a weekend, we walked with my wife, then just a girl, and met friends. They went to be photographed on the Green Card. They say we are coming with us, this year you still have time to submit questionnaires. We thought: why not! In the end, I won the first time and came here.

The first year Sergey and his wife spent in Florida. It's funny, but being in the USA, our compatriot worked remotely for one of the Russian companies.

- I originally wanted to get to Silicon Valley, work at Google. But it turned out that the first year was a “resort”. And then we put all our belongings in our minivan and rushed here across America. We drove slowly 9 days, great trip turned out.

- The first 5 months in the valley were “preparatory”. I found out everything, explored how to get into Google, but I could not pass the interview.

As a result, here in the valley, Sergey managed to change two companies before he was recruited by Tesla from LinkedIn. He could not refuse this offer, even though he did not win the salary - he just wanted to work in the company of Ilona Mask.

Photo 42.tut.by

According to Sergey, it’s far from a fact that he will stay at Tesla Motors for a long time, but he also has good relations with the manager here:

- Soon we plan to rush to Belarus, right away on 5 weeks. And I agreed that two weeks would be on vacation, and another three like Mexicans: I will be in touch, but, in fact, this is also a rest. I'm not sure that in many companies I would be able to do that.

If you are a good specialist, then you are valued here.

It's time for Sergey to run to work, and I ask the last question: what are the differences between our work and Silicon Valley?

- Work here is easier to find. Every year the need for developers in Silicon Valley is only growing, and if you are a more or less normal specialist, you definitely won't be left without bread.

It seems to me that people here are calmer and happier. If you are a good specialist, here you are appreciated. Your desire to cultivate here is well paid, in contrast to what we usually have. If you want to achieve something, you will achieve it here. And this was not done artificially - this is how the economy is built. Here you calmly do your job, and the leadership does not prevent you from working calmly.

At the same time, people are working here and are not lazy, because they understand that if they do their job well, they will not be charged extra for the same money, but they will make it possible to earn more. And if you work badly, then you just get fired. Therefore, everyone is trying to work well. Everything here is somehow fairer or something.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Success story: how did the Belarusian champion become a mermaid in a Las Vegas show

What national traits should a Belarusian kill in himself if he moves to America?

How to move to America and at one moment find everything

How to achieve success in life: 5 valuable lessons from Ukrainians in the United States

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.