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Tesla Motors Mechanical Engineer Interview Questions & Reviews

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Web: www.teslamotors.com | HQ: Palo Alto, CA

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Updated Feb 7, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 4 ratings

3.5

“Difficult” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 4 ratings

Positive	25%
Neutral	75%
Negative	0%

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1–4 of 4 Tesla Motors Interviews

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4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jan 2012 in Palo Alto, CA (took 2 months)

Put in my resume at an info session at my school in October. Was cold called in December and had a 30 minute phone interview about the contents of my resume. A month passed and I was called in to interview in Palo Alto, CA which consisted of 10 or so 1:1 and phone interviews all day. Most of them wanted to talk about projects I had worked on, and I was asked several brain teaser type questions. The beginning was nerve racking, but as the day went on, I got more comfortable. Everyone seemed very excited about the new car coming out, and it was an overall positive experience. I am still waiting to hear back.

Interview Questions

Walk me through the steps you took to finish a project on your resume.

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a Recruiter and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Group/Panel Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Sep 2010 in Palo Alto, CA (took 2 months)

Applied online, received a phone call within 3 days from HR. They asked me about my personality and asked me to talk about a few previous projects outlines in my resume. Then I had 3 phone interviews with sr engineers and we continued to talk about my previous projects and hobbies. I then was asked to fly down to HQ for 1:1 interviews with 4 people, made a 45min presentation about a previous project, wrote a 20 question skills test which was on the hard side. I received a call the next day saying I had to write 2 essays, one about why i want to work for Tesla, and another about why Tesla should hire me, they had to be 800 words in length each. A week later I was contacted by a different HR person asking me for some more details about my resume (i was a little confused since I had already answered these questions to the other HR guy) then 4 weeks went by with nothing (I called twice and e-mailed twice, still with no response). I then got a call saying they were going to make their decision tonight and that I should expect a call, i waited and waited by the phone and never got a call. I called them the following day and the HR guy was on vacation... 3 weeks later he comes back and tells me the CTO decided to hire someone else... I wasn't very happy with the result, a little more communication would have been helpful...

Interview Questions

. I received a call the next day saying I had to write 2 essays, one about why i want to work for Tesla, and another about why Tesla should hire me, they had to be 800 words in length each.

Answer Question

You're in a row boat, which is in a large tank filled with water. You have an anchor on board, which you throw overboard. Does the water level in the tank rise or fall?

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Other Details

The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Presentation, an IQ/Intelligence Test and a Skills Test.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

View Comments (1)

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Mar 2010 in Palo Alto, CA (took 2+ weeks)

The interview process moved rather quickly in comparison to other companies. They were able to quickly setup the interview with short notice. I was given some relatively basic questions that any reliable engineer should be able to answer. There were about 3-4 interviews: one with HR, another with an engineer, and another with Elon.

Interview Questions

If two vehicles are identical, except for one weighing twice as much as the other vehicle, and they roll down a hill, which car reaches the bottom first? Neglect air resistance. Assume the extra mass is in the body of the vehicle.

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Negotiation Details

There wasn't a negotiation phase. You take it or leave it. Too many people applying to ask for anything else.

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test, a Skills Test and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed May 2011 (took 1 week)

The initial phone call was with an HR person, who asked basic personality questions, such as pick three words to describe yourself, why do you want to work for Tesla, what would your friends say about your qualifications for this job, etc. Then, you'll interview with a team leader for a team they think you'd match well with. Here, they will probably discuss projects you've worked on, and may ask some easy technical questions related to field they work in. If that goes well, you'll interview with the team, one by one (all phone interviews after all), and these vary depending on who's interviewing you. They will typically just ask about your projects again, and may potentially throw you a brain teaser.

Interview Questions

You're in a row boat, which is in a large tank filled with water. You have an anchor on board, which you throw overboard (the chain is long enough so the anchor rests completely on the bottom of the tank). Does the water level in the tank rise or fall?

View Answers (32)