Dear Elon,

I get the impression that you think Tesla is the coolest company in the world. And I absolutely agree with you. But you think that the idea of Tesla is enough to carry us through the 12 hour days, the weekends away from friends and family and the Oh Shit! moments where we scramble to get something done. These are not day-to-day issues, this is our working life, which at over 60 hours a week, pretty much makes up our actual life. As futile as this is coming from me to you, you are wrong. The idea is not enough. I hope you can learn that Tesla is the coolest company in the world because of the people within it. If you remove the 5,000 people currently working at Tesla and replace them with another 5,000 people, Tesla will no longer be top rung.

I just wanted to bring that to your attention. I have just left the company, partly because of these reasons, mostly because there is something else I want (need?) to do. I left my closest friends in one of the most beautiful cities in the world to come across the world and contribute to the Tesla dream. I am glad to have had the opportunity, it has been one of the wildest rides of my life, one I will never forget. There are exceptionally talented people that work with you and I am lucky to count some of those people as my close friends. I just hope you can recognise that talent and make them happy to be at Tesla.

I will never forget my first week, I spent all three days of training itching in my seat, constantly thinking “This had better be good!” Having moved across the world and separated from everything I knew, I was eager to find out if it had all been worth it.After a tour of the line with my new boss, I was shit scared of what I’d gotten myself into. I didn’t know anything about electric drive units! Why did these people hire me? Why did you approve my resume when it crossed your desk?

After three months, I had it. I was making decisions, getting it done, without having to ask a hundred questions beforehand. I knew what I was doing! From there it was challenge after challenge, each one unique and interesting, I was having the time of my life.

Early this year, some things changed and the Tesla dynamic shifted for me. They were subtle changes for the company, but the ripple effect meant that I felt it. I held on, hoping for a change, hoping that it would get better. I tried to pursue other avenues within Tesla to reboot my system, but unfortunately found these were mostly dead ends. And so, I’m making a new path that leads away from Tesla.

It was good. Thank you for the chance to be a part of your dream.

~Queen of the LDU