Tesla’s ‘Cyber Rodeo’ Was a Recruiting Event in a Party Hat
Tesla’s ‘Cyber Rodeo’ Was a Recruiting Event in a Party Hat
(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc.’s Cyber Rodeo was a star-studded bash that was part marketing, part sales, and a whole lot of spectacle. But the party also had a more conventional, less glamorous purpose: showing off the company to the types of workers it’s desperate to hire.
Tesla has said it will need to find 20,000 workers for its factory outside of Austin, everything from manufacturing talent to mechanical and software engineers. That could be a daunting task in Central Texas, where a sub-3% unemployment rate amid a surge of corporate expansions and relocations in the area has driven up demand for skilled workers.
Yael Lawson, chief operations officer at Workforce Solutions Capital Area in Austin saw the event as “a useful recruiting tool.” She said that Tesla coming to town has garnered more attention for the manufacturing industry, helping her showcase her company’s scholarships and training.
Of course, hiring wasn’t the focus of the party. There was also live music, a petting zoo and roller skaters in cowboy hats, turning the factory that’s three times the size of the Pentagon into something more like a carnival. Dust from a nearby construction site blew toward the factory, reminiscent of the fine white chalk of Nevada’s annual Burning Man festival.
A bulk of the party-goers were Tesla workers, many of whom brought along friends and family. Employees of SpaceX and The Boring Company, clad in branded hats and shirts, helped fill out the ranks. But throughout the event, it was clear that recruiting was also at the forefront.
At least nine representatives from Austin Community College, which has partnered with Tesla since 2020, were also in attendance. Tesla and ACC are developing “cutting-edge training programs that prepare students for careers in manufacturing — one of the region’s fastest-growing industries,” a spokesperson for the school said in an email.
The local school district, Del Valle ISD, counted board members, its superintendent, and its workforce development team among the attendees.
“Students have many choices in a variety of industries at our schools, Tesla adds one more piece to this,” said communications director Christopher Weddle. “We continually work to build relationships with local businesses and industry areas for the benefit of our students.”
Weaving through the heavy machinery, art installations, and the beer and wine stands (where IDs were checked), local engineering students stared in awe at cutaways of the Model Y and stacks of the new 4680 battery cells. Most imposing was the company’s so-called “Giga Press,” the largest die-casting machine in the world, used to create an SUV frame out of just two solid pieces of metal.
There was no shortage of things to do and sights to see. The food truck choices ranged from South African, halal, and of course, tacos and BBQ. You could pet some baby goats, take in the art installations and the massive Tesla coils, or win some stuffed animals from various carnival games.
There was hard seltzer and cider on hand to help pass the time in the long lines at the merchandise tables, where swaths of people queued up for a chance to buy items like a Tesla hoodie ($90), Cyber Rodeo T-Shirt ($35) or trucker hat ($30), or a branding iron with a Tesla logo ($50).
Being a Cyber Rodeo, there were of course multiple mechanical bulls for riding, and -- earlier in the day -- a real one, too: Bevo, the live mascot for the University of Texas at Austin.
Music blared from multiple stages, including one above the factory’s main entrance where Austin’s own Gary Clark, Jr. performed a set. Below, the company’s assembly robots clicked and whirred along to their own beat under actual spotlights, miming the moves they’ll make when cars are built inside the factory. It was a dramatic flair, like something out of the Walt Disney playbook.
As an ad for the business, there were unsurprisingly some details left out, like Tesla’s history of dealing with claims of harassment and racism at its factories. In October, the company was hit with a $137 million penalty as the result of a discrimination lawsuit brought by a former worker at Tesla’s Fremont, California factory. Tesla has asked for the penalty to be reduced, and a judge said in January it was “extremely high.”
CEO Elon Musk instead focused on the future. He said he believes the Austin factory could make 1 million cars per year (including the Cybertruck and other models), and guessed that Tesla could make up around 20% of the global automotive market some day. Musk also lavished attention on the company’s as-yet-unrealized efforts to develop fully autonomous vehicles, as well as a humanoid robot that he’s said could be Tesla’s “most important product” one day.
These are all high bars, and he will need an army to reach them. But after the Cyber Rodeo, and Tesla’s overall charm offensive in Austin, Musk may have convinced more locals to join the ranks.
Ed Latson, executive director of the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, said the event was “exemplary of the energy and excitement around the brand, locally and globally. They do a good job leveraging that enthusiasm in their marketing but also in their recruiting of talent which is so critical to their success.”
As Musk put it after walking the raucous crowd through a half-hour presentation about his company’s history, and its future goals: “Here at Tesla, we believe in throwing great parties.”
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