May 24, 2016

Employee Perk: A Tesla Model 3 for all your staff [Video]

What if there was a company that gave each of its employees a Tesla? Well... it turns out there is -- according to the News & Observer*, "A Raleigh startup intent on recruiting top talent is dangling a shiny bright object in front of prospective employees – a new Tesla Model 3. The scientific instruments maker, Practichem, also will lease Model 3s for its existing full-time staff of more than 15 employees."

“My team has done more with our few people... than our competitors who have been entrenched forever” and therefore deserve to be rewarded, said founder and CEO Nick DeMarco. “And,” he added, “it doesn’t hurt to get publicity when we’re trying to hire more people.” The company is looking to fill 10 open positions.

Dustin Simons, a 24-year-old design engineer at the company, learned a Tesla 3 was in his future Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve never had a vehicle that was less than 20 years old, so having a new car is world-changing in a way,” he said.

DeMarco hit upon Model 3s as an employee perk in part because he sees both Tesla and Practichem as innovative companies that are driving change. “We’re not trying to say we’re just like Tesla and I’m certainly not (Tesla CEO) Elon Musk,” DeMarco said. “But we see some similarities.” DeMarco said the company’s outside investors, which last month plowed $5 million into the company, are on board with the unusual perk. “We’ll see, but this is probably the most cost-effective way to do good recruiting, much cheaper than using ... headhunters,” he said.

"The Tesla car is really an inspiring car," Nick DeMarco told CNBC*. "It's really an inspiring story, and I want our employees to come in every day and touch that steering wheel when they get out of their car and come in and realize they can do that same sort of inspiring things in our industry."

This isn't the first company to offer employees a Tesla. Last year, a Chinese start-up, WiFi Master Key, gave out generous year-end bonuses rewarding every member of staff with more than four months at the company a Tesla Model S (see above). Dozens out of the fifty current employees at the company received the bonus. In any event, whether it's a year-end bonus or a signing bonus, getting a Tesla as part of a job is certainly a fantastic perk.

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*Source: The News & Observer / CNBC