4 ms·

I've gotten the impression that the "firing people in weird and capricious ways" bit has been greatly exaggerated. I do think anyone taking this has to expect

by jsight 7y ago

I've gotten the impression that the "firing people in weird and capricious ways" bit has been greatly exaggerated. I do think anyone taking this has to expect grueling and challenging work. The job description practically demands that.

scrumbledober 7y ago
Anecdotal evidence here, but I have a friend who worked in their palo alto office for several years. One day as Elon was walking through the Fremont factory he saw a large empty floor space and asked someone why there were no workers occupying that space. It was then decided that her job would be moved from Palo Alto to Fremont. She was not fired in a weird and capricious way, but she was managed out of the company in a weird and capricious way, and that was less than a year ago.
- kwhitefoot 7y ago
  That happens in pretty much all big companies.
- jsight 7y ago
  I do not doubt your story at all and have heard a few similar stories. My comment was specifically about the Business Insider story that someone else linked, as I feel like that one was exaggerated.
arexxbifs 7y ago
I don't doubt for a second that people like Musk (and before him for example Steve Jobs and Jack Tramiel) can be very demanding and sometimes difficult to work for. I also don't doubt for a second that a lot of the stories told have a sour grapes quality to them: If you're good at the kind of job they're offering, you can easily find employment somewhere else and you're also probably smart enough to move on of your own volition, before being capriciously fired. I worked for an erratic, sociopathic boss once. I quit after about six months. Unless you're a masochist or truly have no other options, you'll soon realize it's not worth whatever extra money or prestige the company name might possibly come with.
- xkjkls 7y ago
  > I worked for an erratic, sociopathic boss once. I quit after about six months. Unless you're a masochist or truly have no other options, you'll soon realize it's not worth whatever extra money or prestige the company name might possibly come with. Many people move their families, buy houses, and make large commitments taking new jobs (plus are normally granted large stock vesting at a given schedule). There's a lot of reasons people might put up with abuse for awhile.
  - arexxbifs 7y ago
    Some of that fall under "having no other options", which is of course a very unpleasant situation to be in. I'm not, however, desperate enough for wealth to sell my sanity for stock options. :-)
- hermitdev 7y ago
  I worked for a hedge fund that fired the bottom 10% every year. I lasted 9 years and my first boss was fired after I was ready to quit 6 months in (figured iwas about 2 weeks away from quitting). Not all firms that employ such tactics are terrible. Sometimes, you need to get rid of the people that just arent cutting their weight. 10% isnt a hard rule, just a guideline.
xkjkls 7y ago
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-reportedly-terrified-tesla-staff-with-his-firing-sprees-2018-12 https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-reportedly-terrifi...

by jsight 7y ago

scrumbledober 7y ago

Anecdotal evidence here, but I have a friend who worked in their palo alto office for several years. One day as Elon was walking through the Fremont factory he saw a large empty floor space and asked someone why there were no workers occupying that space. It was then decided that her job would be moved from Palo Alto to Fremont. She was not fired in a weird and capricious way, but she was managed out of the company in a weird and capricious way, and that was less than a year ago.

kwhitefoot 7y ago
That happens in pretty much all big companies.
jsight 7y ago
I do not doubt your story at all and have heard a few similar stories. My comment was specifically about the Business Insider story that someone else linked, as I feel like that one was exaggerated.

arexxbifs 7y ago

I don't doubt for a second that people like Musk (and before him for example Steve Jobs and Jack Tramiel) can be very demanding and sometimes difficult to work for. I also don't doubt for a second that a lot of the stories told have a sour grapes quality to them: If you're good at the kind of job they're offering, you can easily find employment somewhere else and you're also probably smart enough to move on of your own volition, before being capriciously fired. I worked for an erratic, sociopathic boss once. I quit after about six months. Unless you're a masochist or truly have no other options, you'll soon realize it's not worth whatever extra money or prestige the company name might possibly come with.

xkjkls 7y ago
> I worked for an erratic, sociopathic boss once. I quit after about six months. Unless you're a masochist or truly have no other options, you'll soon realize it's not worth whatever extra money or prestige the company name might possibly come with. Many people move their families, buy houses, and make large commitments taking new jobs (plus are normally granted large stock vesting at a given schedule). There's a lot of reasons people might put up with abuse for awhile.
- arexxbifs 7y ago
  Some of that fall under "having no other options", which is of course a very unpleasant situation to be in. I'm not, however, desperate enough for wealth to sell my sanity for stock options. :-)
hermitdev 7y ago
I worked for a hedge fund that fired the bottom 10% every year. I lasted 9 years and my first boss was fired after I was ready to quit 6 months in (figured iwas about 2 weeks away from quitting). Not all firms that employ such tactics are terrible. Sometimes, you need to get rid of the people that just arent cutting their weight. 10% isnt a hard rule, just a guideline.

xkjkls 7y ago

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-reportedly-terrified-tesla-staff-with-his-firing-sprees-2018-12 https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-reportedly-terrifi...