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So everybody seems to be getting a bit skiddish because of Elon's recent behavior. The question to me is, are these people departing because Tesla is a house of

So everybody seems to be getting a bit skiddish because of Elon's recent behavior. The question to me is, are these people departing because Tesla is a house of cards and Elon is shaking the table? Or are they leaving because they believe Elon threatens even a stable company what with the SEC investigation and everything? I'd love to be a fly on the wall for the after drinks conversations between finance people in TSLA.

devoply 8y ago
They are probably leaving because Elon works them like he works his engineers. They want nice cushy executive jobs and Elon does not give those to them. Finance people are a dime a dozen. It's not as if any actual irreplaceable knowledge is being lost here.
- smnrchrds 8y ago
  It always amazes me how some people dismiss and underestimate every profession except their own, but fail to see the irony and hypocrisy in that.
  - p2detar 8y ago
    But isn't that right though? Tesla build cars, not fintech products. What irreplaceable knowledge are they losing in this particular case?
    - DevX101 8y ago
      Leading finance for a capital intensive company like Tesla is not a 'dime a dozen' job.
    - jonknee 8y ago
      Tesla builds cars by relying on very complex financing. Financing is critical to Tesla existing for the long term.
    - tomjakubowski 8y ago
      Any knowledge which wasn't transferred into a document of some kind will either be lost or have to be re-learned by experience. High turnover in any sector is terrible for business. This is true even for relatively "unskilled" labor: informal, often unwritten practices between workers are essential to any kind of collaborative work. See the "slightly different sense" here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-to-rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-to-rule
    - tedunangst 8y ago
      Tesla is asking suppliers to return money already paid to them. Turnover in the finance department probably impedes those negotiations.
  - loftyal 8y ago
    Not in this case. The only reason Tesla is known is solely because of engineering and design.
- planteen 8y ago
  Finance workers are used to working insane hours, especially on Wall St., so I'm not sure I buy that. My theory - finance people are more familiar with the law and less willing to skirt it. They know the consequence can lead to them personally going to jail or getting their CPA revoked.
  - goobynight 8y ago
    It's only insane hours for 4-10 years right? From what I can tell, I-bankers put in their time and either rise to a cushier role within the bank or they get into something else.
    - Mvandenbergh 8y ago
      It depends on the role. If you rise into a position where you are managing customer relationships or otherwise have a P&L that is directly attributable to you, your hours become - not necessarily shorter - but not the primary thing you are judged on. An M&A banker who spends two days a week on the golf course and only rolls into the office once a week on a Thursday afternoon to tell his colleagues about the new mandate he secured for the firm isn't going to get shit from anyone. On the other hand - above a certain level, no sales = good night, sweet prince. Juniors are judged by long hours and making sure their commas are perfect (in documents rarely read by clients) because there is nothing else to judge them on.
- watwut 8y ago
  You are aware that not allowing boss to take advantage of you when you have choice is a good thing? Like, Musk abuses his engineers who meekly accept that sort of thing. The theory that finance people standind up to it is something bad is absurd.
bitxbit 8y ago
They’re leaving because they can make a lot more money elsewhere. TSLA has been very volatile while everything else has been going hockey stick for the past two years.
- bhritchie 8y ago
  Dave Morton left after one month.
  - camjohnson26 8y ago
    And left a $10 million vesting stock grant on the table.
gammateam 8y ago
Or they change jobs as much as we do and its not newsworthy at all?
- gamblor956 8y ago
  Finance people don't change jobs that frequently. They usually spend years at gigs before leaving. It is especially unusual for finance executives to leave so shortly after joining a new company. Barring serious family issues, it generally indicates serious financial problems at the new employer.
bduerst 8y ago
Musk's strategy seems to make himself more of a distraction, in order to deflect away from the poor financials and performance of the company. On it's current trajectory, Tesla is burning. But hey, here's a picture of me smoking weed. Did you know we are going to go private? Psych.
- agumonkey 8y ago
  Tesla: Deloreane circa 2010s
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]

devoply 8y ago

They are probably leaving because Elon works them like he works his engineers. They want nice cushy executive jobs and Elon does not give those to them. Finance people are a dime a dozen. It's not as if any actual irreplaceable knowledge is being lost here.

smnrchrds 8y ago
It always amazes me how some people dismiss and underestimate every profession except their own, but fail to see the irony and hypocrisy in that.
- p2detar 8y ago
  But isn't that right though? Tesla build cars, not fintech products. What irreplaceable knowledge are they losing in this particular case?
  - DevX101 8y ago
    Leading finance for a capital intensive company like Tesla is not a 'dime a dozen' job.
  - jonknee 8y ago
    Tesla builds cars by relying on very complex financing. Financing is critical to Tesla existing for the long term.
  - tomjakubowski 8y ago
    Any knowledge which wasn't transferred into a document of some kind will either be lost or have to be re-learned by experience. High turnover in any sector is terrible for business. This is true even for relatively "unskilled" labor: informal, often unwritten practices between workers are essential to any kind of collaborative work. See the "slightly different sense" here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-to-rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-to-rule
  - tedunangst 8y ago
    Tesla is asking suppliers to return money already paid to them. Turnover in the finance department probably impedes those negotiations.
- loftyal 8y ago
  Not in this case. The only reason Tesla is known is solely because of engineering and design.
planteen 8y ago
Finance workers are used to working insane hours, especially on Wall St., so I'm not sure I buy that. My theory - finance people are more familiar with the law and less willing to skirt it. They know the consequence can lead to them personally going to jail or getting their CPA revoked.
- goobynight 8y ago
  It's only insane hours for 4-10 years right? From what I can tell, I-bankers put in their time and either rise to a cushier role within the bank or they get into something else.
  - Mvandenbergh 8y ago
    It depends on the role. If you rise into a position where you are managing customer relationships or otherwise have a P&L that is directly attributable to you, your hours become - not necessarily shorter - but not the primary thing you are judged on. An M&A banker who spends two days a week on the golf course and only rolls into the office once a week on a Thursday afternoon to tell his colleagues about the new mandate he secured for the firm isn't going to get shit from anyone. On the other hand - above a certain level, no sales = good night, sweet prince. Juniors are judged by long hours and making sure their commas are perfect (in documents rarely read by clients) because there is nothing else to judge them on.
watwut 8y ago
You are aware that not allowing boss to take advantage of you when you have choice is a good thing? Like, Musk abuses his engineers who meekly accept that sort of thing. The theory that finance people standind up to it is something bad is absurd.

bitxbit 8y ago

They’re leaving because they can make a lot more money elsewhere. TSLA has been very volatile while everything else has been going hockey stick for the past two years.

bhritchie 8y ago
Dave Morton left after one month.
- camjohnson26 8y ago
  And left a $10 million vesting stock grant on the table.

gammateam 8y ago

Or they change jobs as much as we do and its not newsworthy at all?

gamblor956 8y ago
Finance people don't change jobs that frequently. They usually spend years at gigs before leaving. It is especially unusual for finance executives to leave so shortly after joining a new company. Barring serious family issues, it generally indicates serious financial problems at the new employer.

bduerst 8y ago

Musk's strategy seems to make himself more of a distraction, in order to deflect away from the poor financials and performance of the company. On it's current trajectory, Tesla is burning. But hey, here's a picture of me smoking weed. Did you know we are going to go private? Psych.

agumonkey 8y ago
Tesla: Deloreane circa 2010s
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]