Let me start by saying I'm on my way out, along with so many others soon to come. It's a matter of timing the departure for stock vesting purposes, rental lease purposes, other opportunities, etc.

I love what Tesla as a company is doing, the opportunities it affords me, and the people I work closely with, especially in my field of work (manufacturing). Before Model 3 ramp it was basically my dream job. Then Elon decided to bet the company on Model 3.

Not only were impossible timelines forced upon us, but so were manufacturing mandates that were thought up by someone with a clear lack of manufacturing background. Elon's ego is too big to realize the mistakes he's making when he's making them. He hires the best and brightest, but then undermines the decisions they make by insisting that "physics first" is the best path forward. Unfortunately there's more to the real world than just theoretical physical limitations.

So here we are, a year into Model 3 ramp. Admittedly we've come an incredibly long way in the time we were given. Something most companies would never be able to accomplish. Problem is, it's nowhere close to what Elon made us promise. It has also been at the expense of hundreds of employees who have had to work 16+ hours a day, 7 days a week for the last year. Most of us not even doing it at home since a majority of this ramp took place in Reno and we were forced to travel.

Elon still isn't happy. He routinely insults (literally, insults) the competency and dedication of those of us who have sacrificed so much. He faults and fires those who are closest to the chaos even though they have their hands forced in the decisions they make. Think Elon's design mandate is a bad idea? You can tell him but you'll probably get fired for "not being a believer". Fail to execute on Elon's bad ideas? You're clearly at fault and deserve to be fired. That's what we're all dealing with. Most of the lines and machines you've heard about in the press releases have been a direct result of poor decisions that Elon has made. Yet here we are taking the blame and trying to clean up the mess, while Elon gets to tout to the public the "ridiculous things he sees on the lines that are obvious problems" as though he's the saving grace of manufacturing.

To say he creates a toxic workplace is an understatement. He runs the company as a dictatorship, through a pure culture of fear. Even VPs and other C level execs don't stand up to him for fear of their jobs. But he's incredibly good at marketing himself, so that's all this subreddit sees.

I don't expect people will take me very seriously here, but that doesn't change what's actually going on.