Tesla Saga, Part 937.4

Posted on January 29, 2009
Filed Under Clean Tech |

So the City of San Jose is distraught that Tesla pulled the plug on their planned factory in San Jose. Check out their math.

Construction would mean 600 jobs and $40 million in wages, according to an analysis by city staff, and the facility ultimately would employ 525 people with an annual payroll exceeding $100 million.

[From Plans for Tesla auto plant in San Jose appear doomed - San Jose Mercury News]

Let’s look past the construction jobs and focus on permanent payroll… the average employee at the Tesla factory, according to San Jose officials, would earn $190,000. We could speculate on bonus structures and additional taxable compensation components, but at any rate that is a lot for per employee at a car factory, it pretty much puts GM’s $78 per hour cost to shame. Okay, it’s also company HQ and has R&D but that is still a lot of coin.

I also question city officials for the wisdom of basing these projections and plans on a company that has failed to meet any of the original targets they set for themselves in the timeframes made public and to date has delivered a mere 160 cars.

PS- I pulled up behind a Tesla yesterday at stop sign, the car has some wicked acceleration.

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