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y***n
发帖数: 2318 | 1 "Since December, Tesla has lost two Vice Presidents for Autopilot."
"Having worked with engineers in the past they are indeed prone to wanting
projects they work on to be perfect versus "good enough" to be a viable
source of revenue. But when we are talking a product such as Autopilot that
can cost people their lives no amount of testing and development is enough
until the product is flawless."
"My position on this company and its stock has not changed. I would run to
the nearest exit. Walking is too slow."
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4102017-tesla-executive-turmoil
Aug. 25, 2017 4:16 PM ET|
Donn Bailey
Summary
It is common to pay bonuses to good employees.
It is common to incentivize employees.
It is common to set performance goals.
It is NOT common to offer an incentive package covering a period (2017) that
is two-thirds over.
Tesla (TSLA) issued a new 8-K report to the SEC. In it along with details on
the latest bond issuance and some off balance sheet accounting
notifications was the notice of a new incentive compensation plan for
Jonathan McNeill, Tesla's President, Global Sales and Service.
The total value of the additional compensation package is $700,000. This
appears to be on top of his current salary of just over $500,000 or other
awards already in place. What is very unusual is the terms and performance
metrics as listed below.
Achievement of certain target levels of
1) Vehicle deliveries during the third and fourth quarters of 2017
2) Operational and financial metrics relating to vehicle service performance
and costs during 2017
3) Customer satisfaction scores during 2017
The specific target levels pursuant to the Compensation Plan are to be
separately determined, and payments pursuant to the Compensation Plan will
be made in cash, stock options, or restricted stock units."
(numerical reference added by the author)
Why now?
This entire plan, with details still to be determined, strikes me as an "
employee retention bonus" or ERB. Was McNeill considering departing the
company? There is strong evidence these programs designed to keep employees
who are considering leaving a company rarely work for long. With the terms
of this "bonus" only covering 2017, it would presumably require McNeill to
remain through the rest of the year in order to collect the full amount.
There is a lot of controversy on the subject, with some great articles out
there. I have linked a couple here and here. In general, they buy time for
the employer to find a suitable replacement.
Eight and a half months of 2017 are already in the history books. We are
already half way through the third quarter. Without the metrics already
being established but the compensation identified, Musk and the Board of
Directors can set the metrics to whatever they want at this point and still
ensure McNeill receives the full amount of $700,000. How much can McNeill
affect vehicle sales at this point in the quarter? Does this point to a real
or perceived problem with deliveries?
The company has been underselling the production levels for the past three
consecutive quarters as I disclosed in a widely read article last month here
. That article completely dispelled the myth that Tesla was production
constrained when in fact the company had been demand constrained for nearly
a year. In Q3 2016 when a company-wide push was underway to set a record for
deliveries we never read of McNeill being given a bonus for hitting the
numbers.
Executive departures
Looking over the last 12-15 months, executive departures are high at Tesla.
Almost three dozen vice presidents and directors have left in that period.
During my 10 years of tenures at Rockwell International and Hughes Space and
Communications, I witnessed just a handful of departures that were not
retirements. In emails to the press, Tesla likes to compare its executive
turnover to a tech company where they would rank favorably. But Tesla is not
a tech company. When 90% of their revenues come from building and selling
vehicles that makes them an auto manufacturer.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Tesla quoted that only 20% of their senior
leadership have worked there for at least a decade and just 60% have been
there at least six years. Other than Elon Musk, CFO Deepak Ahuja and CTO J.B
. Straubel no other executives are listed on its website, its investor
relations page or in the annual report filings.
Here is a partial list of Tesla's executive departures in 2017, their
positions and departure dates:
Kurt Kelty - Dir Battery Technology - July
Peter Rive - Head of Solar Roof - July (8 months with Tesla)
Lyndon Rive - Head of Sales & Service, Tesla Energy - June
Chris Lattner - VP, Autopilot software - June (lasted just 6 months)
Arnnon Geshuri - VP Human Resources - May
Jennifer Kim - Director, HR for Engineering - May
Jason Wheeler - CFO - April (lasted just 15 months)
Mark Lipscomb - VP Human Resources - March (reported to Geshuri)
Satish Jeyachandran - Dir- Hardware Engineering - March
Notable 2016 departures:
Mateo Jaramillo - VP Energy Storage
Sterling Anderson - VP Autopilot programs
Michael Zanoni - VP Finance and Worldwide Controller (returned to Amazon)
Ricardo Reyes - VP Global Communications (lasted 18 months)
James Chen - VP Regulatory Affairs and Deputy General Counsel
Greg Reichow - VP Production
Josh Ensign - VP Manufacturing
Rich Heley - VP Products and Programs
Since December, Tesla has lost two Vice Presidents for Autopilot. Now comes
word of dissent in the engineering ranks on the Autopilot program in an
article released yesterday by Marketwatch. The basis for the dissent appears
to be in pushing the Autopilot program hardware as Full Self Driving. In
the most recent earnings call for Q2, Elon actually used the words "we
believe" when discussing current Autopilot hardware as supporting FSD.
In recent months, the team has lost at least 10 engineers and four top
managers — including Anderson’s successor, who lasted less than six months
before leaving in June." (Marketwatch)
Most of these departed executives were direct reports to Elon Musk, CEO. It
appears he is not an easy person to disagree with. It seems it is "his way
or the highway." That is a dangerous position to take as you are trying to
build a team to launch Tesla into the mass market of auto sales, up from
just being a niche player.
Conclusion
Finding the right mix of people to round out the executive team of any major
corporation is no easy task. But once a CEO develops a reputation as Elon
Musk seemingly has from reading the articles on executive departures at
Tesla, it is a tough reputation to overcome. Former employees with good
things to say are happy to speak. But in attempts by Bloomberg and
Automotive News, none of the former executives they contacted were willing
to speak about Tesla "on the record."
Candidates often look to the hiring history of a company. No one wants to be
put into a position of feeling forced to leave any company. Clashes in
management style are apparent at Tesla. Musk appears quicker to promote a
new product than the people building the product. Having worked with
engineers in the past they are indeed prone to wanting projects they work on
to be perfect versus "good enough" to be a viable source of revenue. But
when we are talking a product such as Autopilot that can cost people their
lives no amount of testing and development is enough until the product is
flawless.
What we see in the executive turnovers at Tesla is it is affecting all areas
of the company. So why would the president position be immune? In my
opinion, Tesla has bought the services of Jon McNeill until the end of the
year for an extra $700,000. I have no doubt that whatever metrics are
ultimately set, McNeill will meet all of them and collect his reward. Then
we will see what comes in 2018.
My position on this company and its stock has not changed. I would run to
the nearest exit. Walking is too slow.
Disclosure: I am/we are short TSLA VIA PUT OPTIONS.
I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not
receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no
business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this
article.
Additional disclosure: I try to make my articles thought provoking which
hopefully will inspire you to comment. It is this exchange of ideas and
opinions that make SA a great resource. Whether you loved, enjoyed, disliked
, or even hated this article click the "follow" button up near the article
title to be notified of each of my article releases. Maybe you will like the
next one even more. | f******t
发帖数: 7283 | 2 其实Tesla自动驾驶部门的高管辞职，他们是很明智的。
不成熟的autopilot已经、并且未来肯定会继续闹出人命；说不好很可能惹上刑事官司
。一旦被定性为刑事案件，Elon Musk当然不想坐牢，所以必须找人来当替罪羊。显然
这些VP是最佳人选。在湾区又不是特别高的收入，却要时刻担心出事惹祸，这种苦差事
谁愿意长期来干呢？ | y***n
发帖数: 2318 | 3 的确如此，美国交通部近期就要投票决定FL的auto-pilot命案的liability。
【在 f******t 的大作中提到】
: 其实Tesla自动驾驶部门的高管辞职，他们是很明智的。
: 不成熟的autopilot已经、并且未来肯定会继续闹出人命；说不好很可能惹上刑事官司
: 。一旦被定性为刑事案件，Elon Musk当然不想坐牢，所以必须找人来当替罪羊。显然
: 这些VP是最佳人选。在湾区又不是特别高的收入，却要时刻担心出事惹祸，这种苦差事
: 谁愿意长期来干呢？
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