Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, Green Daily
Tesla Founder's Blog is live and Martin's not happy!
When Tesla founder Martin Eberhard left the company recently, he announced he would soon be starting a blog where he would talk about what's going on. Well TeslaFounders.com went live earlier this week and if the latest post from Martin is any indication there are some very unhappy people who were formerly employed at the Silicon Valley start-up. At the blog and also over at the TeslaMotorsClub discussion forums there is plenty of discussion and stories from some of the people who have been let go recently. A lot of idealistic people joined Eberhard at the company and many of them feel betrayed now. They feel the company has abandoned the vision and it's all about getting the money out now.
Contacted for comment, Tesla VP Darryl Siry explained that the team was not organized effectively and there weren't clear lines of responsibility. As a result, targets were missed and as we all know now the company failed to meet it's goal of customer deliveries in 2007. One example given was the engineering group that had four different areas with overlapping responsibilities. As a result, things fell through the cracks. The entire engineering staff has now been consolidated under Chief Technical Officer JB Straubel. The new management team went through an appraisal and ranking of all employees in the company. Those that were found not to be meeting the requirements of the jobs that needed to be done were let go.
Continuing reading about what's going on at Tesla after the jump.
[Sources: TeslaFoundersBlog, Tesla Motors]
While people were fired, the company is still hiring as evidenced by the list of job opportunities on the Tesla site. The goal was to create a more effective organization. While the investors in the company have put up a lot of money, it's clear that there is no endless pile of cash available. Tesla's management wants to get a great product out the door and make the company self-sustaining as any business should be. While the goal of producing environmentally friendly but exciting to drive cars is a worthy one, Tesla isn't a charity but a business. The reality that the people involved in Tesla have learned is that building cars is a tough road to travel.
As I have stated here before over the history of the automobile since Karl Benz's 1886 MotorWagen, far more car companies have sprung and failed than succeeded. With modern safety requirements and customer expectations, it's perhaps harder than ever before. Siry emphasized in our discussion that Tesla's management has no interest in selling out to another manufacturer and fully intends to stay independent. To do that they need the best team possible to accomplish the incredibly difficult task ahead of them.
The company's management team now feels they have a stronger, better-organized team with which to move forward in building a sustainable business. If people really want Tesla to help change the world the business needs to be on a sound footing and sustainable over the long haul. The recent actions of Tesla management certainly may seem harsh and capricious to some and it's certainly understandable that those who were fired would be upset. But it's not personal, it's just business.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
why not the LS2LS7? 11:40AM (1/12/2008)
Oh crap, one of my two sources for info at the company is on that list. Kinda weird to find out a friend (even if not a close one) has lost their job.
It does sound like the suppliers of the money are beginning to make money-based decisions.
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tim mcleod 11:45AM (1/12/2008)
wrong thread for this, but found no obvious link to autoblog mgmnt and wanted this looked into right away
just rec'd email from papp at spark-ev that the zoyte's ready for delivery - now
$20k, Li ion, highway speed, 5-door sm suv
would love someone to get more info and share it
thanks, tim
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Ron Fischer 12:14PM (1/12/2008)
this is a normal step in silicon valley startups. few make it to product release without a reorg.
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Throwback 12:49PM (1/12/2008)
Ron, the problem is they are entering into one of the most competitive and expensive businesses in the world. This not your normal silicon valley start-up. Tesla claim they want to be an auto manufacturer, product development takes time, money and experienced hands. This type of re-org may not matter for the fans of the roadster but what about the sedan they are planning? I have not heard anything about the after sales service and support. That to me is most important part of them being a profitable car company.
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brian hague 1:29PM (1/12/2008)
Let's call it Edison Motors!
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Joseph 2:04PM (1/12/2008)
To me this doesn't sound like some cruel conspiracy and that Tesla is falling apart, to me it just sounds like a reorganization of the company that was done too harshly.
If you look at the list, alot of people with important positions have been fired. The reason for this, as Sam states in this blog post is that they all had overlapping positions of management. I don't know, but I'd imagine start-ups are disorganized due to the small number of employees and that responsibilities overlaps eachother, leading to disorganization, making it necessary to fire some people with important roles. These positions overlap. There were just too many important positions, when they could've just had one.
However, this reorganization of the company looks to me (I have absolutely no business experience) to have been done a bit harshly. It's not explicitly stated in Martin's blog, but the time period that all of this has happened seems to have been very short from looking at the Tesla page that lists (and listed) some of their major employees.
The reason I think it was done harshly, is because of Elon Musk's rigorous goal for Tesla Motors. He has stated (several times I think) something like or at least sounding like, "I want Tesla to become a major car company as quickly as possible."
Remember the Whitestar plant in New Mexico? When they put out their press release, they said they wanted to start contraction in about TWO months. Obviously, contraction hasn't begun because we would've heard something about it and VP for Whitestar has been fired. (I guess the logic for that is if we're going to be pre-occupied with the Roadster for the next six+ months, why pay him for that time being. Or maybe they thought he wasn't qualified. No offense, sir, if you're reading this. I'm just stating the possibilities.)
Anyway, back on topic. We can see that Elon must really be serious when he says he wants this company to grow as fast as possible because they wanted to start contraction of a Whitestar plant by April of LAST YEAR. I think this, kind of harsh, reorganization is on part with that goal to grow as fast as possible. Wouldn't it better if they took it easy and instead of firing people tried to find another good place for them? Sure, it might take more time and money, but isn't that the right thing to do? Well, I think a major reason they didn't do that is if they took it easy on the reorganization they could risk further delays.
But, another major reason is that Tesla is grown up now. It's not quite a start up anymore. Money is king. But, honestly, what else do you expect? It's a business.
Another reason for this seemingly harsh change in management may be because of the new CEO. On Martin's blog, a former employee stated,
"The new CEO is a no-nonsense leader who acts with military efficiency. I have faith in his abilities though I was unfortunately caught up in his management turnover."
It sounds like this CEO, with his "military" attitude is a perfect match for Elon, with all his determination and money. And again, this "military efficiency" is probably what caused there to be so many lay-offs of so many important people. I guess all their importance overlapped eachother, and so it became a bit disorganized as the company became larger and larger.
Basically: What Tesla did was harsh, but it needed to be done one way or another, and the truth is that this reorganization is just another step in Tesla's ultimate success.
Phew! I don't think I've ever written such a long comment.
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why not the LS2LS7? 2:12PM (1/12/2008)
I dunno Joseph. Looks to me like they're mostly dressing up the books for a sale. Whether to a company or to the public I dunno.
It is what venture capitalists to after all. Put some money in and work to flip the company to another company or to the public via IPO as soon as possible. VCs never want to own a company long-term which is why I always find them suspect. As a potential buyer (of stock) I have to ask, if this company is such a great investment, why are you selling?
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David B 7:19PM (1/16/2008)
I hope this is "just" a reorg and not a symthom that someone in the big established car business is pulling the strings in order to bury the company and its promising -and most needed- original project and vision.
It reminds me of the movie "Tucker, the man and his dream"... best luck to Tesla: the Roadster is absolutely mindblowing, and a great first (second, if you count the EV1) step in the right path to the future, many of us hope to be able to drive a more affordable EV Tesla model someday...
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phil sherburne 8:26PM (3/09/2008)
Does anyone know how much the batteries in the car weigh? And would it be practical to purchase a spare battery and alternate the charged battery for the depleted one or are they too difficult to remove and install? Anyone know what the batteries will cost--rough idea?
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Chris M 11:54PM (3/09/2008)
Your best source of Tesla info is their website:
http://www.teslamotors.com/
IIRC, the Energy Storage System (the battery pack) weighs about 900 lbs and costs about $20,000. It has its own climate control, and with all the hoses and electrical connections it is not designed for easy removal.
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Sam Abuelsamid 9:28AM (3/10/2008)
Removal and replacement of the battery pack is about an eight hour process for the techs at Tesla, requires the car to be on a hoist and is not at all like swapping the batteries in your remote. The pack is about 990lbs and although Tesla won't say officially, I've heard cost estimates of anywhere from $20k to as high as $40k.
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scott regberg 4:13PM (3/18/2008)
Martin Eberhard:
Would you like to speak at the ACG Conference in Beverly Hills before 1600 executives and the nation's largest gathering of Private Equity Groups?
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