Tesla has a staggering number of job applicants despite shady labor complaints
Even if Tesla faces a federal labor complaint for unfair workplace practices and has been called out for workplace injuries, tons of people want to work at the company.
Job interest was strong at the Bay Area-based car maker -- in 2017 more than 500,000 job seekers applied to the company, LinkedIn data released Tuesday shows. Tesla employs more than 37,000 people.
The National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against Tesla after employees accused the company of intimidating employees who wanted to unionize last year. Tesla also came under fire in 2017 when an advocacy group focused on workplace hazards highlighted Tesla's injury rates. The company has denied all allegations, and it trumpeted its efforts to become the "safest car factory in the world" earlier this year.
One senior mechanical design engineer job alone garnered more than 550 applicants, LinkedIn noted. Engineering jobs are in highest demand with 243 percent more openings in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period a year ago -- that's 865 engineering job openings. More than 3,500 job openings this year were in operations, sales, and other roles, such as those that work on car production, where labor issues have been flagged.
But even with the influx of interest in the electric car company, Tesla eked out just over 101,000 Model S and X cars in all of 2017. The Model 3 sedan, in particular, massively missed the company goal of 1,500 cars produced. The third quarter last year saw only 260 Model 3 cars built. By the end of the year, 2,425 Model 3s were built. The first quarter of this year saw 34,494 vehicles produced, 9,766 of which were Model 3s.
The company aims to hit a 5,000 per week goal by this summer for the affordable sedan -- and CEO Elon Musk has taken over production to make sure that happens. So far Tesla's about halfway there.
UPDATE: April 10, 2018, 7:58 p.m. PDT This story has been updated to include that Tesla has denied allegations of workplace hazards and employee intimidation. We've also clarified that the National Labor and Relations Board filed a complaint based on employee accusations and not the agency's own. First quarter 2018 vehicle production figures were also added.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
