In early May, Tesla ($TSLA) was under vast media and public scrutiny as it struggled to deliver the long-awaited, affordable Model 3 electric vehicle. At the time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised to ramp up production of the model and hire as many as 400 people per week at its Fremont production facility to meet demands. Executives from Ford scoffed at the promise, and Tesla's stock performance faltered.
As of today, hiring data shows that accelerated hiring to the tune of 400 people per week simply isn't happening.
In fact, when we filter for positions in Fremont (where the company said it would hire), we see the following:
This comes after a steady hiring spree at the company. For five months, from December 2017 to May 2018, Tesla Motors was on its most active hiring spree in the company's short history. But as of May 8, hiring is slowing down at an even more precipitous clip, as the chart of overall job openings shows below.
This comes after a similar lull last fall, when open jobs dipped from a high of 3,200 to a December low of 1,770. But after the new year, hiring picked up to that fall high in May as the company very publicly said it would focus on hiring humans to meet demands for product.
Despite this lack of hiring, Elon Musk recently told shareholders that the company was nearing its Model 3 weekly production goal of 5,000 vehicles, saying it is "extremely likely" Tesla will hit that goal by the end of the month. Tesla stock rallied as a result, rising 15 percent on Tuesday.
