Author Topic: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking  (Read 7328 times)

welliamwallace

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Just Joe

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2017, 08:14:37 AM »
That's no big deal. Just throw some money at a trusted contractor. Build bigger parking lots or a garage.

The problem I see is that none of his employees drive Teslas. ;)

jinga nation

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2017, 08:47:20 AM »
I believe the first few production runs of Tesla Model 3s will go to employees. Nothing better than the beta/gamma testers actually working for Elon and wanting to pay for the privilege.

Raenia

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2017, 06:05:08 PM »
Looks like a very efficient use of space to me!  Perhaps he's trying to encourage more people to bike and/or carpool? :P

gimp

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #4 on: April 12, 2017, 06:28:42 PM »
Oh my god who cares. Land in the bay area is expensive, the public transit hovers between decent in the city to nearly nonexistent in the suburbs. Companies use valets to squeeze in as many cars as possible onto surface lots. Companies also aggressively promote shuttles, coaches, ride shares, bikes, etc etc etc. It's never enough.

trashmanz

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #5 on: April 12, 2017, 08:30:04 PM »
That's no big deal. Just throw some money at a trusted contractor. Build bigger parking lots or a garage.

The problem I see is that none of his employees drive Teslas. ;)

Ha, yeah I see at least one Leaf in there.  Anyway, the only Tesla's out right now are too expensive for most workers. 

obstinate

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2017, 07:50:44 PM »
I felt bad for the guy who had to arrive at 5:25 AM to get a spot . . . but, uh, dude. Don't live sixty miles from work. I'm not aware of any place where you have to live that far away to find affordable housing.

Dicey

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2017, 07:04:25 PM »
I felt bad for the guy who had to arrive at 5:25 AM to get a spot . . . but, uh, dude. Don't live sixty miles from work. I'm not aware of any place where you have to live that far away to find affordable housing.
So you live in the Bay Area?

Another Reader

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2017, 07:18:51 PM »
I don't really understand the problem at the Fremont factory.  That's the old GM plant from the 1960's that employed a lot of assembly line workers.  In the mid 1980's it became the NUMMI plant, the joint venture of GM and Toyota.  Not as many workers and plenty of parking.  Last I knew, the assembly plant was not fully used.  It's huge.  Maybe they could convert it into an indoor garage.

obstinate

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2017, 09:25:37 PM »
I felt bad for the guy who had to arrive at 5:25 AM to get a spot . . . but, uh, dude. Don't live sixty miles from work. I'm not aware of any place where you have to live that far away to find affordable housing.
So you live in the Bay Area?
Used to until very recently. Thing is, his commute alone costs him the better part of $500/mo, conservatively. I guess if he makes less than about $50k, my advice wouldn't apply, but it seems like from this, that is not the case. For someone making $90k, there are a variety of relatively affordable rental units in Fremont, SJ, or Pleasanton. I'm not saying you'll be living like a king . . . I don't think you can expect to as an automobile assembly line worker. But you'll be living better than you would waking up at 3AM every morning.

Dicey

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2017, 05:23:17 AM »
I don't really understand the problem at the Fremont factory.  That's the old GM plant from the 1960's that employed a lot of assembly line workers.  In the mid 1980's it became the NUMMI plant, the joint venture of GM and Toyota.  Not as many workers and plenty of parking.  Last I knew, the assembly plant was not fully used.  It's huge. Maybe they could convert it into an indoor garage.
Ha! I was thinking the same thing.
I felt bad for the guy who had to arrive at 5:25 AM to get a spot . . . but, uh, dude. Don't live sixty miles from work. I'm not aware of any place where you have to live that far away to find affordable housing.
So you live in the Bay Area?
Used to until very recently. Thing is, his commute alone costs him the better part of $500/mo, conservatively. I guess if he makes less than about $50k, my advice wouldn't apply, but it seems like from this, that is not the case. For someone making $90k, there are a variety of relatively affordable rental units in Fremont, SJ, or Pleasanton. I'm not saying you'll be living like a king . . . I don't think you can expect to as an automobile assembly line worker. But you'll be living better than you would waking up at 3AM every morning.
You're right, but these people are not necessarily mustachian, and there are a LOT of them. I think it's the We-have-to-have-the-biggest-house-we-can-get-now-that-we-have-kids trap.

And we do live like kings in the Bay Area on that kind of salary, but we bought Real Estate here a long time ago. We are well past the point of FI. DH walks to work, but a ridiculous number of his colleagues have horrendous commutes. I wave to them as we walk up the hill to his work every day. It's a constant source of amazement how far these guys have come from before they begin their official work day. They drive right past our house at the tail end of their commutes, then see us walking hand-in-hand up the hill. I'm sure a number of them wonder how we managed it, but not one of them has ever asked.

Spork

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #11 on: April 17, 2017, 09:15:04 AM »
I felt bad for the guy who had to arrive at 5:25 AM to get a spot . . . but, uh, dude. Don't live sixty miles from work. I'm not aware of any place where you have to live that far away to find affordable housing.

I feel sorry for him when he has an unexpected emergency and can't get his damn car out.

Just Joe

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #12 on: April 17, 2017, 04:05:30 PM »
That's what big 4WD trucks are for... Just tear off through the landscaping... ;)

jinga nation

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #13 on: April 18, 2017, 06:50:08 AM »
That's what big 4WD trucks are for... Just tear off through the landscaping... ;)
Coal Roll to rub it in!

BrokeNoMo

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #14 on: April 18, 2017, 07:10:53 AM »
Seems like a good problem to have... for the company.

I once worked for an automotive supply company. The first year there I had to park about 1/2 mile from the doors and hike in every day, but by my third year I had a front row parking spot every day due to layoffs.

The trajectory of the company made me nervous enough to go out and find new employment.

I can't help but think that many of these employees are engineering their own automated replacements...

Just Joe

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #15 on: April 18, 2017, 08:24:44 AM »
What came of the automotive employer? Did they recover or sink?

WhiteTrashCash

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #16 on: April 18, 2017, 06:16:34 PM »
Can anyone explain WHY most companies even need to be in Silicon Valley since their businesses are mostly dealing with ones and zeros and can be conducted from anywhere on the planet? Why not just go to East Bumblebutt, Mississippi, pay $15 for a house, and nearly nothing in taxes? Tesla did something similar with their gigafactory by placing it in the tax haven state of Nevada.

obstinate

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #17 on: April 18, 2017, 06:56:01 PM »
Why not just go to East Bumblebutt, Mississippi, pay $15 for a house, and nearly nothing in taxes? Tesla did something similar with their gigafactory by placing it in the tax haven state of Nevada.
Talented, technically skilled workers do not want to live in East Bumblebutt. They want to live in:

- Seattle
- Portland
- SF
- LA
- Denver
- Chicago
- New York
- Boston

And a handful of other places. Basically, wherever the map is red in this thread. This is not true of everyone, of course. But it's true of many. I for one would not take a $150k/y raise to move to Mississippi, which would be approximately my difference in costs between here and there.

(And Tesla's choice of Nevada for the gigafactory was less about its tax-haven status and more about the sun. The three states that it was considering were Texas, Nevada, and Arizona.)
« Last Edit: April 18, 2017, 09:27:55 PM by obstinate »

MgoSam

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #18 on: April 19, 2017, 08:34:16 AM »
Can anyone explain WHY most companies even need to be in Silicon Valley since their businesses are mostly dealing with ones and zeros and can be conducted from anywhere on the planet? Why not just go to East Bumblebutt, Mississippi, pay $15 for a house, and nearly nothing in taxes? Tesla did something similar with their gigafactory by placing it in the tax haven state of Nevada.

The VC's are based there, most of the workers they want to hire live there, and by going to parties they can network with their peers and bounce ideas and more off each other. Silicon Valley, for better or worse, is where many tech professionals are going to go to try to start their company or get a job. There may be a backlash to its high costs, esp as it may be easier for a company to get funded outside of Silicon Valley. I know the Twin Cities are getting more high tech companies, as is Downtown Detroit, Omaha, and a lot of other lower cost of living areas.

calimom

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #19 on: April 19, 2017, 01:24:43 PM »
"Not enough parking" is a far better problem to have than "too much parking" as was the case for many, many Silicon Valley tech firms from around 1999 to 2002 or so.

And you know what they say about housing in the Bay Area: keep driving until you can afford it!

BrokeNoMo

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #20 on: April 20, 2017, 07:02:08 AM »
What came of the automotive employer? Did they recover or sink?

They are still in business and doing well.

I have found that I prefer living in a little bigger city, so I would probably not go back.

TomTX

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #21 on: April 20, 2017, 07:56:55 PM »
I don't really understand the problem at the Fremont factory.  That's the old GM plant from the 1960's that employed a lot of assembly line workers.  In the mid 1980's it became the NUMMI plant, the joint venture of GM and Toyota.  Not as many workers and plenty of parking.  Last I knew, the assembly plant was not fully used.  It's huge.  Maybe they could convert it into an indoor garage.

If plans come together, Tesla will be putting out more cars than the peak of the  NUMMI days by sometime next year. In addition, the place is full of construction workers rebuilding/installing stuff - and a lot of the suppliers have been moving in/around the area.

NUMMI peaked at around 8k cars/week. Overall average for the whole NUMMI timeframe was 6k cars/week.

Currently, Tesla is putting out something like 2-2.5k cars/week (S&X) The goal for Model 3 is something like 4-5k/week by the end of 2017, while still ramping Model S & X. If everything goes well, that should put production around 7-8k cars/week at the end of 2017.

MayDay

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Re: Elon Musk Has an Awkward Problem at Tesla: Employee Parking
« Reply #22 on: April 25, 2017, 06:23:17 AM »
TomTX, do you know if they are still on schedule to hit the Model 3 production?

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!