Hard to connect with other interns, being in a new city with no friends can be very boring.
Advice
Know what you are getting into, don't just take a job for the company name and focus on a career path that you enjoy.
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Delivery specialist
May 2019 • Tempe, AZ
What I liked
Company goals and policies, forward thinking field of work.
What I wish was different
Advice
Be patient with hiring process
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Manufacturing Engineering Intern
May - August 2018 • Fremont, CA
What I liked
It was very fast paced, and interns can work on highly impactful projects.
What I wish was different
I wish my supervisor had more time to coach me, but he was way too busy with the Model 3 production target.
Advice
At Tesla, you really need to be self-starters, because other engineers are way too busy with their own work. They will only provide you with resources when you ask for them.
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Production associate
June - August 2018 • Sparks, NV
What I liked
The position I had was being part of a team, if you know how to embrace being a team member and building relationships it can be an enjoyable experience.
What I wish was different
The pay was good, but management could be better at communication and decision making. Was doing 60 hour weeks because of mandatory overtime with no knowledge of when it would be done.
Advice
Talk to people. Other employees, your supervisors, everybody has a story and you can gain a lot of information as well as personal relationships.
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People Analytics Intern
May - August 2018 • Fremont, CA
What I liked
Hands off management style, frequent intern speaker series, well paid for my time
What I wish was different
I wish my group had been more technical and that I'd had the opportunity to work on a more statistics/math heavy project that would've forced me to broaden my skillset
Advice
Networking is everything! I never would've gotten into Tesla had it not been for a 3rd level connection (I connected to a Tesla employee who who graduated from the same program as someone my dad used to work with)
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Mechanical Engineer
August 2018 - May 2019 • Sparks, NV
What I liked
The autonomy and cutting edge processes of the company and valuable hands on experience I received there.
What I wish was different
The drive out to the factory, it was terrible.
Advice
Be prepared for long hours and a lot of responsibility, but good coworkers and solid work environment.
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Cell Engineering Intern
May - August 2018 • Palo Alto, CA
What I liked
The fast-paced atmosphere and breadth of engineering challenges I worked with.
What I wish was different
I wish there was a more rigid organizational structure because I wasted a lot of time looking for the right people.
Advice
Be flexible.
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Design Engineer Intern
May - August 2018 • Palo Alto, CA
What I liked
What I wish was different
Advice
Network and work your connections at events and LinkedIn. Hard work pays off.
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Mechanical Engineering Intern
May - August 2018 • Fremont, CA
What I liked
Lots of responsibility and freedom given to interns
What I wish was different
A little more structure for internship programs.
Advice
Keep your head down and be ready for failure. You'll work on a lot of projects for hours and they might end up getting scrapped. However, the projects you do work on will be crucial to the company and you'll feel accomplished in the end.
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Intern Energy Product Engineering
August 2018 • San Rafael, CA
What I liked
My team was flexible with my schedule. Everyone worked well and was independent. Feedback was provided frequently.
Many intern events!
What I wish was different
The connection between the remote office, due to distance, and the typically thought of locations (Palo Alto, Fremont) was very weak. I have the badge and walk through the door, but the office is rather small. It makes it a little less stressful than it should be. It didn't help that my commute from SJSU to the office was long and that many intern events were at Fremont or Palo Alto.
Advice
Always show your results, no matter the progress and try to improve constantly.. I've worked it out with my boss in weekly meetings on my tasks and I'm always mentioning how I should improve it. Sometimes, the best critique is from yourself.
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Intern
January - August 2018 • Fremont, CA
What I liked
plenty of projects to do at Tesla and I was given a lot of responsibility (perhaps too much)
lots to do for fun in and around the Bay Area, loads of other interns around
What I wish was different
location in South Bay is inconvenient
my team had poor mentorship/feedback
Advice
important to hit the ground running
independence in finding projects is preferred and often necessary
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Project Coordinator
June - August 2018 • Fremont, CA
What I liked
I was part of a company that was acquired by Tesla. The ability to see and participate and see differences in how companies manage internal governance with high growth was invaluable.
What I wish was different
I wish I had a better team. Being acquired removed self-selection, and I should have made more effort to transition.
Advice
Quitting is underrated. Opportunity costs are high, and every day one is doing something should be measured by what else they could have been doing that day.
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Orientation and Onboarding Intern
May - August 2018 • Fremont, CA
What I liked
I really liked what Tesla stands for, as I am very passionate about sustainability. I really believe that my job was making a difference in this world, so I was extremely motivated to come in to work. I also loved working with the Orientation team, as I was able to meet people in all different roles of the company, from VPs to engineers to sales people and production associates! I was able to partake in their first impression of Tesla, and I am so grateful!
What I wish was different
I wish there had been more leadership and professional development for myself and the other interns on my team. However, this encouraged me to take a very independent role in my networking, and I was very proud of how many people I connected with and how many doors were opened because of it!
Advice
I would definitely encourage those who are working in corporate culture to branch out and network with other teams/parts of the company. I got the opportunity to work with three other teams while working at Tesla, including the Sustainability Team, and the Energy Operations team, enhancing my learning experience drastically.
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Technical Writing Intern
August 2020 • Buffalo, NY
What I liked
Tesla's open-mindedness mentality is my favorite part of the company. They allow anyone to pitch their idea for how to make the work we do better, no matter if you've been a part of the team for 1 week or 10 years. I was able to identify problems I saw coming in and my proposed solution to the team with very little experience; regardless, they listened, we implemented it, and it's made a real impact.
What I wish was different
I wish there were more interns during my term, as we saw much more potential in the projects we worked on but didn't have the bandwidth for.
Advice
Actively identifying issues and having a "continuous improvement" mentality is the best way to get a job done.
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Manufacturing Intern
January - August 2020 • Sparks, NV
What I liked
It is a fast paced environment and I was surrounded by the smartest people.
What I wish was different
Nothing.
Advice
Apply for the job you want!
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Demand Generation Intern
August - November 2020 • Palo Alto, CA
What I liked
I ran my own outbound sales campaigns, created my own content for marketing campaigns, designed my own research tests, and contributed ideas for social media that were reviewed by Elon Musk.
What I wish was different
approval processes
Advice
Be as creative as possible and use first principles thinking.
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Quality Engineer Intern
January - August 2021 • Palo Alto, CA
What I liked
Working environment and amazing coworkers
What I wish was different
The overall pace of internship was a bit too fast which rendered the learning experience too hasty
Advice
It is good to be a independent and self-learning individual if you want to work at a company with culture like Tesla
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Engineering Program Management Intern
January - August 2022 • Fremont, CA
What I liked
Tesla has a fast paced environment which makes the job interesting. You get to interact with a lot of different teams. You will also be able to make a lot of professional connections. You'll be part of important projects which will give you an opportunity to grow and showcase your talents.
What I wish was different
Everything was good.
Advice
To make as much connections as possible. Always ask question - this will help you learn a lot of things and will help you grow as an engineer.
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Mechanical Engineering Intern
January - April 2022 • Austin, TX
What I liked
Great learning experience. Cool parties and lots of travel
What I wish was different
I wish there was better work-life balance training to prevent burnout
Advice
If you plan to work for an EV company, prepare for long hour work, and have a good support system to cool down
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Production Engineering Intern
January - May 2021 • Reno, NV
What I liked
I liked that I was granted a lot of autonomy as an intern and had a mentor and a manager during my internship. I felt very supported throughout my time there.
What I wish was different
I wish there was more work life balance because work days could be very long most weeks
Advice
Have a meeting at the very beginning with your manager and mentor to identify clear goals that you want to achieve and what they want you to achieve.
