Back when I was first leaving the mattress store in 2017 I interviewed at a few places. One was Tesla, the other a jewelry store. I wasn’t a fan of Musk, but I liked the idea of electric cars and I’ve always excelled at sales so I felt like it was worth considering.
I arrived and chatted with the sales manager who said everyone started on phones before they could work their way up. I was a little wary of that as I’m not a phone person but she laughed and said, “Well, you know. We’re still just a startup, so everyone has to put in the hours.”
I stared at her in confusion. Tesla. A startup. In 2017. What???
I laughed a little and suggested that it was past that stage of growth but she doubled down and repeated it later. I remained baffled. After the interview she offered to let me talk to an employee to see how happy she was.
I readily agreed. The manager left. I asked the employee how happy she was.
She said that sometimes pay was late, that promotions were promised that didn’t manifest for months, but that overall she liked working there and cut them slack because they were still just a startup.
I stared at her. It was like listening to a cultist repeating a phrase that was in direct contradiction with reality. I wanted to ask what she thought a startup was but I just thanked her for her time.
I got offered both jobs, Tesla or jewelry. Jewelry offered four more dollars an hour. When I turned down the Tesla lady I kindly said that I didn’t feel there was as much job security in a startup.
