Work Values at Tesla: An Example Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Tesla builds both electric cars and solar batteries for a wildly enthusiastic market. It recently announced plans to build a sister plant in China. What drives people who work at Tesla? One factor is an unrelenting pressure to perform, where the example is set from the top.17 When a technical problem slowed the production line, Elon Musk, company CEO, moved a cot onto the factory floor so he could work on the problem 24/7. Employees who don't share this passion quickly leave, but there are plenty of applicants to replace them. Each year, almost half a million people apply for jobs at Tesla, the most applicants of any company in the US. Tesla's stated mission of accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy and its strong leadership from the top appeals to many of its 45,000 employees, who are sometimes willing to work 100-hour shifts and eschew many of the common perks of technology companies, such as free food. Instead, many employees report that they run on adrenaline, stock options, and a shared passion with company leaders to change the world. Kiran Karunakaran, at twenty-nine, passed up higher-paying offers from Apple and Alphabet to join Tesla. "What really attracts young people to Tesla is instant gratification," he said. "You see incredible things you've worked on come to fruition, on the road, in months." Meanwhile Anusha Atluri, a second-year MBA student working on a summer internship, spotted a way to tweak a step on the manufacturing line that she thought might speed up production. She suggested to her supervisors that they consider247 her suggestion during the next week. "They were like, why not just try it tomorrow?" One manager left Tesla to have a baby but was soon back on the job. "Life isn't about working less," she observed. "Everybody should have more work than they can possibly finished at all times." 18 As Tesla moves to build its new Chinese factory, questions emerge about whether the company will attempt to replicate its value system overseas or seek to accommodate local work values.

question:

1. In your view, could Tesla's high-individualism/high performance work environment succeed in other countries? Which countries, and why?

2. Would you like to work at Tesla? Why, or why not?