TESLA FOREVER

Tesla is the greatest company in history. I will always love it forever. Even if we go belly-up tomorrow, every history of the 21st century will have to write about Elon Musk, Tesla, and our amazing achievements of the last several years. The way we influenced the future of the automobile industry, the energy industry, AI (FSD is the most sophisticated, useful, real-world AI in existence), the battery industry, and manufacturing itself (Gigafactory... ever heard of it??); my grandchildren will definitely know their grandfather and great uncle Tom Primeau were two of the thousands of original builders of the most amazing company in history, and they will be proud of us for it.

I use the words "we" and "us" because even though Tesla laid me off, I am Tesla 4 Life. I'm not "ex-Tesla" any more than I'm "ex-IU" or "ex-Purdue." I spent 6 years at Tesla, so I say on Monday, I graduated with a double PhD in getting s*** done from the Tesla Technical Institute of GSD. The experiences I had, the lessons I learned, the relationships I built, my crazy Tesla story, I take all of it with me, just like my university experiences. And it has already been 10x as valuable, and directly changed my life 10x as much, as any university education possibly could have. I literally don't want my 15-year-old son to go to college, I want him to work at Tesla for a few years first. Then I want him to take that Tesla intensity, that Tesla work ethic, that Tesla mentality, and go destroy some degree that will teach him actually-valuable skills like data analytics or machine learning, so he can go make a ton of money building the future with me. Tesla will even pay for it. Greatest company ever.

I'm not just a die-hard fan of Tesla like I am of IU and Purdue (Purdue more than IU lately... ??), I'm not just a booster, not just a proud alum, I'm an owner of this company. A significant portion of my equity is invested in Tesla; this is literally my company. I put my last several equity awards in options; I'm all-in, long Tesla. With the rise in the stock price since the day I started in 2018, and the potential upside of Robotaxi, Megapack 2XL, and the Tesla Network, how could I not be?

In just 6 years, Tesla promoted me 4 times, and tripled my pay. They gave me the freedom and flexibility to build my career from an S2 Production Training Coordinator on the factory floor, certifying associates on workstations and stuffing work instructions into binders, to a P4 Staff Technical Project Manager, building end-to-end career pathways with complete curricula of 75+ e-learnings and exams, for critical, technically-complex job roles, that don't even exist at other companies.

No other company would have given me the freedom and flexibility to spread my wings and fly like Tesla did. No other company would have loved my work and fostered my skills like Tesla did. No other company would have provided me with better mentors from whom to learn so deeply about the manufacturing, deployment, and service of the most technically-advanced automobile, power electronics, battery, and solar products on earth. And above all, no other company even could have taught me how to project manage the hell out of high-visibility, highly-critical, high-dollar, global-scale programs like Tesla. No other company would have promoted me as often or paid me as handsomely to do work I loved so much as Tesla... anyone who complains about pay or promotions at Tesla is bonkers.

I wish it hadn't happened by e-mail, but... this is Tesla. Elon's ruthless. We all know it. But it's because he has to be. What we're trying to do is so difficult, and so important, he just can't afford not to be. This company almost died immediately after I arrived. And after 6 years, I know very well how it works. I've survived 4 major reductions (2 by the skin of my teeth), plus the 2020 COVID furlough, and I'm here to tell you, from the bottom to the top, nobody is ever safe. I've seen AMAZING, stupendous, talented, friendly, inspiring, kick-ass people who CRUSHED nonstop, get cut for technicalities and reasons beyond anyone's control again and again. The truth is, Tesla doesn't need me, Tesla doesn't need you, Tesla is bigger than any of us (but not ALL of us!). Tesla gets 3 million applicants a year because it's the greatest company in history; a whole bunch of them are better than me at literally everything. With the quality of people desperate to work at Tesla, the fact is, we really are all replaceable.

And frankly, I think it's a good thing Tesla is so ruthless. Because it's a big part of the reason Tesla is the best company in history, which without question, is the people.

Businesses are made of people and relationships. If the people don't show up, there is no Tesla. And if we don't have strong (and mostly healthy... ??) relationships, we can't execute on the mission. The reason we're the best is because we have the best people, and we pull together to execute our way through adversity like no one else.

The cast of characters who pass through Tesla is without compare. Like a pool at the foot of a waterfall, new amazing colleagues flow through one after the other. The water is never stagnant, any pollution gets constantly washed out, and fresh new talent flows in. The longer you soak in it, the more exposure you get to more amazing, talented, one-of-a-kind people. The froth and churn drives more relationships, more experiences from which you learn more and different things, and polishes more sides of your professional identity.

In my 6 years at Tesla, I reported to 16 different managers, and they were ALL great, 16/16. This included 6 senior managers, and I'm here to tell you, Tesla senior managers are special people. The senior management class at Tesla reminds me of the faculty at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music : they're among the best in the world at what they do. In my time at Tesla I got to learn under 6 of them, having weekly 1x1 mentorship sessions and developing close personal relationships, in the same way I did with my music mentor, Dan Perantoni , and the other brass faculty at IU. And like the faculty at IU, I received important - and different - valuable, life-changing, career-making knowledge and skills from each of them. (I'll be writing up what I learned from them here over the next few weeks... follow me for more ??).

In my time at Tesla, I worked hard to build great relationships with the best people I could find. And the work friends I made were the best of my life. They supported me sincerely and selflessly through the hardest struggles of my life. They saw potential in me, believed in me, mentored me, listened to me when I was struggling, promoted me and my work, and more than anything, they just cared.

Immediately after I went to Reno for the Tesla job, my ex-wife and I divorced, and she kept our kids in Indiana. In my first 1x1 with each of my managers, I told them my goal was to become a remote worker so I could move back to Indiana to be near my children. My goal was to not be on their team someday, to do great work for them and then leave. And literally zero of them reacted negatively to that. Every one of them managed me with an open hand, and helped me to reach that goal.

I was Michele Migliori 's lead material-handling trainer and she was working hard to promote me when Kyle Mitchell asked me to consider coming along with him to Giga NY. I told him I didn't think I would like living in Buffalo (WRONG!!!), and I wanted my next move to be back to Indiana. When I talked to Michele, she told me I should consider it, because I would be so much closer to my kids, I would be able to visit them more often. I took her advice, one of the best decisions of my life.

When the pandemic hit and we were facing furloughs in Buffalo, Nathan Call let me work from home for a few weeks to spend extra time with my kids, and helped me avoid being furloughed by letting me go back to being a factory floor trainer until it was over. He worked with me because he knew how important it was for me and my family for me to keep working.

When I transferred under Scott Tripp , and told him in our first 1x1 that my goal was to go remote so I could move back to Indiana to be with my kids, he stopped talking, thought about it for a few seconds and said, "you know, the solar roof installation org is almost entirely remote, let's get you in touch with them." Immediately after our meeting he sent an e-mail to Maureen Holtzman , and I had my first meeting with that team a few days later. A few months later Ryan Nungesser brought me on to that team, I became a remote worker, and moved back to Indiana to be with my children full-time. My whole family knows about Michele and Kyle and Nathan and Scott and Ryan and what they did for us; they hold a special place in all our hearts.

Marcus Mueller blew me up to my full potential. At the end of our first 1x1 after our discussion of goals he said, "yeah man, we're going to f***ing unleash you." Marcus made me feel one million feet tall, like I was Robin to his Batman. He put me on anything and everything, there was nothing he thought I couldn't do. And after 2 years of his mentorship, I started to believe it. Marcus made everything HUGE, done to the maximum. He saved me from the last layoff in 2022 by blowing my role up to global scale, and sending me on a nationwide tour of installation offices across the country. The relationships I built and the experiences I had with these field teams made me 10x more effective as a program manager, and infected me hopelessly with the travel bug. Also, Marcus is fun as HELL.

My brothers and sisters under Papa Marcus: Amanda Henderson , James Cho , Kevin Hilliard , Allen Hughes , Sarah E. Carter , YOPOLDO RODRIGUEZ , Zac McCutcheon, Sarah Kolbe were my longest-term colleagues and friends, who advanced to the next level side-by-side with me. Their friendship over the last 3 years has meant the world to me. The memories we've shared are priceless, and the difference between where ETOS was in June 2022 to where it is today is nothing short of incredible. Tesla Energy Training is in SAFE, AWESOME hands.

So, I am NOT ex-Tesla, I am Tesla 4 LIFE. I am a double PhD graduate of the Tesla Technical Institute of GSD. And for the next few weeks, I am decidedly NOT #opentowork. Because Tesla is so amazing, I'm well-positioned for my next job, and I have some savings to tide me over. So I'm taking time to chill, process, grieve, and regroup for the next adventure. I'm going to Florianopolis, Brazil to marry my unbelievable fiancee Christiane Rigone , then relax on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I'm going to go nuts on my Fluenz Portuguese language program, and play my drums a lot. I'm going to play basketball with my sons in my parents' driveway, and snuggle on the couch with them watching the NBA playoffs without distraction (GO PACERS!!).

And, I'm going to write up all of the incredible things I learned at Tesla for my Tesla fam to read (and y'all too, follow me!). I hope it will help my former colleagues keep crushing, and making money for themselves AND me at Tesla. Then I'll go look for my next learning adventure.

Thanks for everything Tesla, please keep conquering the world for me and all of us.

[Tesla fam not mentioned above: Reno Crew: Necia Turek-Brown , Les Noel, Kelli Deboodt , Roy Rodriguez , Andrew Henry , Amber Folland , Gretchen Gager , Andrew Daniels , Cody Johnson , Amanda Johnson , Gloria K. , Hunter Hamling , Ashleigh Moya , Madison Artist , Gene Rodriguez .

Bills Mafia: Dave Flanagan , Jordan Denney , Edward Maziejka , Nicole Kulik , Andrew McFeely , Andrew Balk , Angel Lopez, Michael Crisanti , Wyatt Bush , Ryan Ellis , Emily Ann Bosse , Michael K. , Evan Keare , Nick Orlando , Benjamin Ezard , Allison Swackhamer , Molly Gawura , Jerome Hundley , James Kuczkowski , Davinder G. , Douglas Licht , PAs, trainers, quality techs, leads, sups, everyone!

Energy and beyond: Irwin Kwan , Scott Woods , Nicholas Short , Devon Boatwright , Steven Foster , Leo da Silva , Bruce Watson , Liv Burton , Courtney Kiley Giacomin , Gary Robison, SPHR , Daniel Williams , Sai Sabarish Raju , QUEEN Adetope Ogunniyi .]