Joe Hickman: Inside Tesla - The Model 3 Rush, Working Around Elon, & Layoffs | SVIC Podcast #27

Joe Hickman, a former Tesla employee, joins us to discuss his time at the company, including his experiences during the Model 3 ramp-up, working around Elon Musk, navigating layoffs, the Solar City acquisition, and much more! We are looking for more sponsors, reach out to [email protected] if you would like to support the show. Show hosts Joe (Eng VP) and Jordan (M&A Deal Lead) worked at various companies from Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Salesforce, Slack, Carta, Splunk, Wealthfront, Adobe, and more. 🚀Youtube and Patreon supporters: We invited Christa Laser to join us to talk about OpenAI's current legal issues. You can find the full episode at patreon.com/svic . The episode is hosted on patreon AND Youtube. 👉DON'T MISS THE CONVERSATION! Gain entry to our exclusive Discord community by becoming a Youtube Channel member or patreon.com/svic supporter to access exclusive episodes, insider updates, and be part of a vibrant group where learning meets laughter 🎙️Don't Miss Our Live Streams Every Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday From 11am to 12pm PST/ American Patriots Time/ Real Tech Workers Time 00:00 Joe Hickman's Background 01:00 Joe's Work At Elon's Staff Meeting & History of Tesla Layoff 01:30 Elon Musk = Larry Elison? 02:20 Tesla Layoff Shock in 2024 03:30 How Layoffs Hit People Differently 07:40 Tesla Factory Becomes Extension of Employee's Identity 08:20 Pain of Layoffs, Validating Feelings, & Bouncing Back 09:45 Laying Off Supercharge Team? 11:20 Exec At Tesla Is Like Running A Marathon 14:41 Survive 6 Months At Tesla Fremont Plant = Life Time Respect 16:30 Solar City Acquisition, How it Happened, Addiction To Title 18:00 Firing Executives After M&A 19:50 Lex Fridman Disease 20:10 Super Chat Joel Sapp (TY): Not rehiring, didn't cut deep enough 21:20 Prevelance of Layoffs - Less Invested? 22:58 Google Chocolate River 23:25 Google's Great Culture 26:20 Gwynne Shotwell - Only Exec To Challenge Elon & Survive 28:40 Joe Working Around Elon's Projects 30:00 Larry Ellison - USSR Getting US Software On Tip of ICBM 31:10 Different Reactions To Layoffs, Personal V Professional Power 35:00 Leaning On A Friend For Help 35:40 Live Comment: Tesla Vs. BYD? 39:30 Jordan's First Car, Working With Race Car Drivers, Tesla 41:20 Space of A SUV & Electric SUV 42:30 Experiencing Layoffs & Pride In Your Work 44:35 Employees Aren't Thinking of Elon, Thinking About The Cause #tesla #ai #elonmusk #layoffs