The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Tesla (Palo Alto, CA) in Sep 2010
Interview
Applied online, received a phone call within 3 days from HR. They asked me about my personality and asked me to talk about a few previous projects outlines in my resume. Then I had 3 phone interviews with sr engineers and we continued to talk about my previous projects and hobbies. I then was asked to fly down to HQ for 1:1 interviews with 4 people, made a 45min presentation about a previous project, wrote a 20 question skills test which was on the hard side. I received a call the next day saying I had to write 2 essays, one about why i want to work for Tesla, and another about why Tesla should hire me, they had to be 800 words in length each. A week later I was contacted by a different HR person asking me for some more details about my resume (i was a little confused since I had already answered these questions to the other HR guy) then 4 weeks went by with nothing (I called twice and e-mailed twice, still with no response). I then got a call saying they were going to make their decision tonight and that I should expect a call, i waited and waited by the phone and never got a call. I called them the following day and the HR guy was on vacation... 3 weeks later he comes back and tells me the CTO decided to hire someone else... I wasn't very happy with the result, a little more communication would have been helpful...
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
. I received a call the next day saying I had to write 2 essays, one about why i want to work for Tesla, and another about why Tesla should hire me, they had to be 800 words in length each.
You're in a row boat, which is in a large tank filled with water. You have an anchor on board, which you throw overboard. Does the water level in the tank rise or fall?
Started with 2 technical rounds. First one was basic MechE questions. Second round interviewer was in a hurry and not so open to listening your thought process. There were questions on electromechanical concepts as well
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Difference in bolt torque in hot and cold conditions
The interview was extremely technical. They didn’t ask for an introduction or any background before immediately diving into solving textbook-style engineering problems. The focus was almost entirely on technical problem-solving rather than behavioral conversation or learning about my experience.
Phone screen, Technical foundations test (1 hour, 10 questions on statics, dynamics, E&M, circuits, etc. – sent as PDF and returned via email), technical interviews, on-site behavioral and technical interviews with portfolio presentation.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Determine the optimal packing efficiency of cylindrical battery cells in a rectangular battery pack.