Tesla Employee, Who Showered At Factory and Slept in Parking Lot, Shares His Layoff Story

Tesla has been known for being a demanding workplace. Its recent restructuring plan has proved to be brutal for thousands of workers across the globe. Workers who put in long hours, even on the weekends, and sacrificed a lot, have been let go, leaving them heartbroken. One such account of a worker who shared their story on LinkedIn has gone viral.  In the post, former Tesla worker Nico Murillo shared that he slept in his car on weekdays to cut the commute to the Fremont, California factory. He even showered at the factory and slept in the parking lot, to work his way up. The post drew massive support from readers with many debating the boundaries that workers should set.

Here’s The Story of Nico Murillo

In his post, Murillo described the day he got fired. He wrote that at 4:30 am he found that his account was deactivated. He ignored it thinking it was an IT problem. Then, half an hour later, he came across an email that read, "Unfortunately as a result, your position has been eliminated by this restructuring." 

However, his manager told him that everyone got it and that more information would be shared later. He then reached the office, but couldn’t "badge in" and the security officer took his badge and told him he was laid off. That’s when he knew he wasn’t going to work there anymore.

'Slept In Parking Lot' and made 'Sacrifices' For The Company

In his post, Murillo described that he worked for five years at Tesla. He sacrificed a lot sleeping in his car on work days, he showered at the factory and slept in the parking lot. He also Microwaved dinner in the break room to commit to his work.

The 29-year-old said he worked his way up from Production Associate, to Lead Production Associate, and to Production Supervisor. He also remembered his supervisor Louie Afusia who passed away last year. 

Concluding the post, Murillo quoted Tony Stark (Ironman) from the movie Avengers Endgame, “Part of the journey is the end."

Since being shared, Murillo’s post has amassed over 68,000 reactions and more than 1,600 comments. Most readers shared similar experiences and questioned if it was worth giving so much time and energy to an employer.

One user @stojanchemanev wrote that “Company is not family and family is not a company.” The user suggested people take things professionally and always have a plan B. “Don’t get it personally don’t give your life to the company,” the user added.

What’s Next For Murillo?

Murillo spoke to CBS MoneyWatch talking about his time at Tesla and his future. He said he doesn’t regret his time at Tesla as he worked up from an entry-level job for $19 an hour, to a higher-level salaried role that paid $120,000 a year.

He says that his next career step also involves living in his car, a Tesla Model Y. He plans to live in his car for the next five years, to cut his housing costs. He plans to put away at least 60% of his income into stock market investments and retire around the age of 35. 

Tesla Layoffs

Tesla is in the process of cutting 10% of its workers across the globe, as it copes with a slump in demand. CEO Elon Musk reportedly said in a memo that the layoffs are needed to "enable us to be lean, innovative, and hungry for the next growth phase cycle."

As per reports from Electrek and The Information, Tesla has cut two senior executive positions of supercharger senior director Rebecca Tinucci and head of new products Daniel Ho. Furthermore, the company which had over 140,000 workers as of December, is laying off almost all of its 500-person charging team.