U.S. electric car maker Tesla will hire hundreds of new employees in just three months of mass layoffs. In recent weeks, Tesla’s recruitment site has posted new employee announcements in various fields, ranging from artificial intelligence experts to general service workers, and will hire about 800 new applicants. Tesla’s new hiring focuses on AI and robotics, including Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus, he said. “At least 25 jobs related to self-driving development or Autopilot and at least 30 jobs related to Optimus.”
Tesla began to cut its workforce on a large scale in April. At the time, CEO Musk announced his plan to cut jobs in an email notice, saying, “We have carefully reviewed the organization and made the difficult decision to cut more than 10% of the workforce worldwide.” Tesla’s workforce reduction this year is estimated to be about 14%, or 19,500.
The new hiring is far from the thousands of jobs Tesla has eliminated this year. The disclosed job postings do not show the full picture of the company’s hiring. However, the hiring gives us a glimpse of the company’s priorities. CEO Musk pointed out that he now sees Tesla as an AI, robot, and sustainable energy company, not an electric vehicle.
Tesla’s new hires include jobs related to installing large-capacity battery megapacks and solar products in addition to AI, as well as customer-facing service departments. Many of its service employees are expected to work in Tesla’s showroom. In May, Tesla deployed 17 AI and robotics jobs at its engineering headquarters in Palo Alto, California, last year, and increased the number of employees to about 130 as of the 10th. Earlier this month, it announced second-quarter global deliveries and said it sold 9.4 gigawatt-hour (GWh) energy storage products. This is the largest quarterly record.
Tesla’s new hiring came with a rise in the company’s stock price. Tesla’s stock price rose all but the day the news of the delay in the launch of the robotaxi was reported, and its market capitalization increased by more than $223 billion.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
