I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Tesla in Sep 2014
Interview
Applied through website. Got contacted fairly quickly by HR and a week later by the hiring manager. Phone interview went great. Was called in for an on-site interview. The first group went fine, the second person was clearly not prepared or had no interview experience because his questions were vague and he did not seem to have a goal in mind.
The third group was something special... it consisted of the most senior engineer and the hiring manager. The engineer came in with an attitude. He asked me a question about a project I worked on and then claimed that the technology I used for that project did not exist. What do you say to that? I used it for over three years with success and he flat-out denied that it existed. I tried to remain polite, but was stunned and could not do much more than explain to him that it really did exist. Then, after reading a two-sentence project description of a different project he concluded that my design for that project was completely wrong... Again, I tried to explain, but I felt like I was talking to a six-year old. The worst part was that the hiring manager just sat there and let it happen. I looked at him for any reaction or help, but it was clear he was afraid to disagree with his engineer.
So, here we have an anti-social, arrogant engineering lead and his weak department manager, which is a recipe for disaster. Within ten minutes I lost all interest in the position. The engineer then proceeded to ask obscure questions involving a lot of syntax and nit-pick every little mistake. By this time I could not care less, so I stopped even trying.
Still, I would not call the entire experience negative. I talked to some very friendly people and all follow-ups were prompt and professional. I won't let one (or two) bad apples spoil it and I would consider applying for a position in a different department (because the one I interviewed for is going to be in deep trouble).
Tips for the company: Give your people interview training. I have interviewed a lot of engineers over the years and I have my routine down pat. Secondly, questions that can be answered by a 5 second Google search are terrible interview questions and teach you nothing about the candidate. Thirdly, fire your lead before it is too late. Finally, if you demand perfect syntax during an interview, you should probably leave the interviewing to someone else.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Unexpected question: "Write a class."... Uhm, excuse me? After asking for more details it was all the direction I was going to get... so I wrote a class declaration.. Bizarre.
First HR will call you. This is to just get basic information like dates you want to work, your major, why Telsa. Next I had phone interviews with members of one manager's group. First interview I was asked questions about high power electronics, given some trick questions a circuit with a motor in it. Next interview was more about my resume. I did not get to interview with the manager of the group.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What are your skills, do you have high power electronics experiences. Considering the motor as part of the circuit to which you can place in/out phase.
I applied online and then got contacted by email about 3 weeks after. I got an initial interview by an HR person and then another interview by phone by the hiring manager. After talking with him on the phone he asked me to go for an on site interview. The interview happened about 3 weeks after our phone interview. I was asked to do a technical presentation and then I interview with each member of the team for about 30 to 45 mins.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
One of the questions that every interviewer asks is why do you want to work at Tesla.